There's something about the human makeup that allows us to justify cheating. When God was making all of us, he must have either had an off day or was looking the other way when he added the "ethical " trait. How else can you explain that we cheat on our taxes, cheat on our loved ones, cheat in business, cheat on the golf course and cheat in sports. I think you get the picture. Cheating is a part of the human makeup. Now I know we aren't perfect, but what in God's creation makes us cheat in sports? I can rationalize an acceptable answer, but morally it doesn't equate. Let's look at the conflicting views on the acceptability of cheating.

The rationalization that cheating in sports is acceptable is morally flawed. In professional sports or highly competitive competition, the cheating athlete says, "I need to be able to compete. Others are cheating, so I'll cheat in order to compete on their level." Then there's the old "it's not really cheating; it's just bending the rules" argument. Then the one that most seem to use to rationalize sports cheating is the "yeah it's cheating, but if I win, it'll be worth it" logic. Never underestimate the power of the mind. It's thru the power of these mental rationalizations that an athlete's conscience, sense of fair play and competitive honesty goes by the wayside.

I've always thought an athlete's deep down fear of failure was at the root of cheating. The higher degree of an athlete's skill, the more the fear of that failure. The greater the rewards for success, the greater the fear of failure. And, the greater the scrutiny of an athlete's performance, the greater the fear of failure. Only the truly great athletes don't cheat. That's because they aren't afraid to fail. Using that definition, all athletes who don't cheat are great athletes. No matter whether they win or have a great performance. Their greatness in sports comes from their honest effort.

Let's look at several examples of great athletes. Michael Jordan is great because his performance, good or bad, is pure. He understands he'll have good games and bad ones. But, what's important to him is his honest effort in whichever game he has. Since he's not afraid to fail, he doesn't have to resort to cheating to put forth a false effort. In fact, his purity in performance is enhanced by his less then outstanding results. He uses those "not to M.J. performance standards" as motivation to improve and correct in his next performance. The cheating athlete doesn't accept his sub par or losing performance as a challenge and looks for illegal ways to improve his performance.

At the Winter Olympics, the good and evil of competition was on display. The evil manifested itself in skiing athletes who tried to manipulate the results by either taking performance enhancing drugs or performance enhancing procedures. They were caught, stripped of their medals and banished from the games. They'll forever be labeled cheaters. In time, others will forget, but the one person who will never forget is that athlete who cheated. That painful memory is only enhanced by the knowledge they won, but also the knowledge of not knowing whether they could have won fairly.

The good at the Winter Games manifested itself in performances by speed skater Derek Parra and figure skater Sarah Hughes. Both were successful and gold medal winners in their respective sports. What will forever enhance their enjoyment and appreciation of their accomplishments is their knowledge they competed against the world's best, they performed to the best of their ability against that competition and they won fairly. What adds to their personal enjoyment and appreciation is the surprise they personally had at what they accomplished and winning. Parra told me that he went to the games only hoping to medal, any medal. He was happy to be representing the United States and hoping as an Hispanic American that he would be a good role model for kids, especially Hispanic kids. Parra won a gold and a silver medal. Also, he became the first Hispanic American to win a Winter Olympic medal. And, he didn't cheat to do so.

Sarah Hughes was the surprise gold medal winner in women's figure skating. She won because she wasn't afraid to lose either. Like Parra, she too just wanted to medal. But, when the opportunity presented itself, she let her joy of skating and performing lead her to a perfect performance that propelled her from 4th place to the gold medal. There was no effort to psyche out her opponents or have her competition kneecapped. She relied strictly on a gutsy, not afraid to fail, flawless performance to lead her to victory.

I'm sure for the less scrutinized and so-called "amateur" athlete the temptation to cheat is far less enticing. But, for the highly paid or highly scrutinized athlete the moral and mental battle to cheat or not is powerful. All athletes know the difference between right and wrong when it comes to competing. What starts to blur that difference is money, acclamation and peer comparison. One or all three can drive the ethical athlete to the point of considering cheating and eventually to cheating. Here is where the test of an athlete's greatness is established. Whether he or she gives into the temptation to cheat or maintains that pure, honest competitive effort. In the end it comes down to one's character, personal choice and a desire to savor one's effort and results for a lifetime. For the athlete, the wrong choice can mean the difference between a lifelong smile and appreciation for the athlete's effort and results or the fear of having to live with the memory of cheating and that someone might find out.

I feel better now.

I'm Ron Barr.

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