Syracuse women’s tennis sophomore Catherine Zawadzki has experienced it firsthand.

As a 12-year-old, Zawadzki witnessed a player her age cheating during a match. Even worse, so did the girl’s parents. And they never said a word.

Now, one professor at the University of Idaho would argue Zawadzki’s experience is indicative of a larger culture in sports – athletes with poor moral reasoning.

Sharon Stoll, who has been teaching at Idaho for more than 40 years, conducted a study throughout the last two decades from which she concluded people who participate in athletics develop negative moral reasoning skills and, in essence, are people who make bad decisions.

But most involved in Syracuse athletics do not agree with Stoll’s research.

The study took Stoll two years to develop and she began collecting data in 1987. She said she studied Division I, II, III and Olympic athletes as well as other competitive models such as lawyers.

One of the questions the study posed was whether athletes would turn themselves in if they stepped out of bounds in the middle of a game and the officials didn’t see it. The overwhelming answer, she said, was no.

‘When you look at data between athletes and other populations, there is a difference,’ Stoll said.

Wei-Ming Leong, a senior on the tennis team, laughed when she heard about Stoll’s study, calling it ‘absurd.’ Aila Dommestrup, a senior setter and right side hitter for the volleyball team, said she thinks the study is ‘silly.’

‘Everyone on our team has an amazing character,’ Dommestrup said.

This generalization of all athletes is one of the flaws SU’s Dr. Bruce Carter sees with the study.

‘I don’t think all athletes are all anything,’ said Carter, associate dean of faculty, curriculum and student services in the College of Human Services and Health Professions. ‘There is a lot of individual variance and situational pressure.’

He also sees a problem with the study since it does not identify what is moral and immoral.

Stoll, who competed in gymnastics and ice skating and coached basketball, volleyball and track and field, said she believes the source of the study’s results is in how competition is taught in society and the environment in which each athlete grows.

Today’s athletes disrespect the opponent, neglect the rules and referees, instead always focusing on the success of the game, she said.

‘End results become so important,’ Stoll said.

But Dommestrup disagreed. In volleyball it is necessary to have respect for the officiator because, she said, so much of the sport hinges on referees’ judgment.

Stoll said the results of the study were consistent across the board in all sports and the inclination to make bad decisions is not innate.

‘There is something that goes on in athletics that changes the moral reasoning of a person, not the other way around,’ she said.

Dr. Tom Clinton, the unofficial sports psychologist for the Syracuse men’s basketball team, said he thinks Stoll’s study is ‘way off.’

‘As long as you have a competitive plan you’re going to have cheating,’ Clinton said.

He attributed development of immoral behavior to many things, such as the way a person was raised by his or her parents and subsequent involvement in a child’s athletic life, the rules of the sport being played and the situation for the behavior.

Other factors include the culture of the society varying geographically, written and unwritten rules of college athletics and sponsorships, media involvement in the sport and a lack of creativity.

While he did say he thought sports are glorified, he cited many examples of poor moral reasoning and behavior in other arenas of society, such as Enron, World.com and Wal-Mart.

Mac Gifford, SU tennis head coach, had a similar train of thought as Clinton in thinking questionable moral reasoning transcends athletics and really permeates all aspects of life.

‘I’m not so sure that the sport creates the moral reasoning or the society,’ he said, citing time-tested cultural examples such as cheating on taxes and infidelity.

Gifford also said he has heard from his athletes that cheating is not so frowned on in the academic world and most students have a ‘join ’em, not fight ’em’ attitude.

Professor William Pooler teaches a sociology of sports course at SU. The course looks at patterns of athletics in social contexts such as women in sports, the history of sports and the probability of athletes going professional. Pooler said he felt athletes were put up on a pedestal and this negatively affects their academic experience.

‘Athletes are socialized to develop a mindset that they don’t have to worry about education because they are superstars,’ Pooler said. ‘It’s how we think of ballplayers as special people. We let them get away with things.’

Sophomore tennis player Victoria Vaynberg played with Zawadzki in a controversial doubles match against Massachusetts in February. In tennis, the athletes officiate the match themselves.

‘They were making calls we didn’t agree with,’ Vaynberg said. ‘And they made them at the most critical times.’

The Orange talked about the UMass incident for a long time, discussing whether or not it was just as wrong to pass judgment on the opponent.

‘It is easy (to cheat) if you have no conscience,’ Vaynberg said. ‘Some people are taught to do whatever it takes to win even if it’s cheating. I would rather lose than (cheat).’

While teammate Leong added that integrity is a big part of her own life, she recognized some people may cheat out of desperation.

‘It’s part of the game,’ Leong said. ‘You just have to deal with it. It’s not going to change.’

But Stoll thinks it can.

Since the study’s completion, she has started an intervention program which aims to help improve athletes’ reasoning process. The program deals with sex, drug and alcohol abuse and violence.

Athletes can’t cheat the way a typical college student can because of the academic support Syracuse athletes receive, Clinton said. Athletes are offered many programs aimed at steering them down the right path, such as study tables, tutors and trainers. SU has not subscribed to Stoll’s program or any one similar to it due to these services.

But more people at Syracuse believe the problem with athletes’ character can’t be easily rectified.

Johvonne Hernandez, a senior thrower on the track and field team, said while everyone on the SU team has high morals and standards, some people are born with an inclination to ‘do whatever it takes to win.’

Fox, a first-year coach at SU and former professional distance runner, also identified a ‘gladiator aspect’ to sports.

‘We are taught in sports to try to get away with whatever we can,’ Fox said. ‘If we do – that’s a plus. We’re always trying to push the limit. That’s just part of sports.’

Published on December 4, 2005 at 12:00 pm