The legacy of cheaters

DEBBIE JACOB

I SUPPOSE it’s only fitting that a week after I wrote about the role sports heroes play in our lives, I find myself addressing cheating scandals in sports.

Cheating undermines trust in individuals, sports and institutions as we have seen in the Winter Olympic Games when 15-year-old Russian ice skater Kamila Valieva got to perform in spite of failing a drug test that should have prevented her from being sent to the Beijing Olympics.

It might seem that a Russian figure skater has little to do with your life, but the fact is this scandal transcends a single sport or country. Honesty and integrity are core values that must form the fabric of our existence no matter where we live.

The truth is, we can’t just say, “Shame on the Russians or shame on Valieva.” We need to ask ourselves what do we do to insist on honesty and integrity in our lives and in our children’s lives? Then ask, “How do we prevent our children from becoming involved in any form of cheating whether it is in school or sports?

Certainly, we must examine the values we instill in our children because they grow up to be our leaders. They must understand that once trust is lost it can never be gained again.

Valieva’s reputation is forever tainted. Point that out to your children. Tell them, “Cheating is wrong, and if you ever doubt that and you try to get away with it, be prepared to face the consequences for the rest of your life.”

Yes, there are comeback stories for cheaters, but they leave a lasting legacy of doubt. Valieva’s story proved so baffling that an arbitration committee decided to let her perform while an ongoing investigation continued about how she came to take a heart medication considered to be a performance-enhancing drug.

At first the news of the teenager using a banned substance evoked pity. She’s a minor so she must have been duped by adults who should have protected her. But then came a bizarre story that the test must have shown trace elements of her grandfather’s heart medication.

We were asked to doubt science and believe that Valieva tested positive by sharing a drinking glass with her grandfather. What an unlikely story that is.

Ice skaters protested the decision to let the teenager compete. A disdainful compromise that flagrantly seemed to violate Olympic rules allowed Valieva to compete, but prevented any medal ceremony if she won. There would be no medal ceremony for anyone who won a medal along with her.

Point out to your children that the ugly reality of cheating is that innocent people often suffer the consequences of the cheater’s fallout. Maybe cheaters are so self-centred and heartless that they don’t care about that, but such stories should make some children think about the consequences of cheating.

Suppose the Russian teen is innocent and she just took medication adults told her to take. How do we raise children to question authority? Valieva grew up in a culture where one is not taught to question authority. Do we live in a culture that teaches honesty and independent thinking? Do we encourage children to question authority if they feel it violates their integrity?

How often do we hold children accountable for cheating in sports or in school or cheating of any kind? How often do we say to ourselves, “We must come down on this child with the full force of the rules for the sake of the child’s future because children never benefit in the long run from cheating.

How much do we teach child athletes about the pitfalls of performance-enhancing drugs? How much do we make them aware of the long-term medical consequences of these drugs?

In one fell swoop, a teenager at the top of her sport has made us question whether what she accomplished was humanly possible. One moment she proved to be a trailblazer, and now she has become a disappointment.

Does it take a performance-enhancing drug that revs up your heart for an ice skater to sustain multiple quadruple jumps in a performance? That act of cheating has robbed us of the ability to measure her capability. It has made us question racism in sports as well, but that is a subject for a whole other column.

In the end, the Olympic drama ended with Valieva falling into fourth place. It would seem she crumbled under pressure. Nothing good ever comes from cheating.