Players being warned. (Photo credit: Reuters)
For those who don’t know, and that may be a lot of you given NBC’s atrocious coverage, eight badminton players were kicked out of the Olympics for “match-fixing.” It did not involve bribery or anything of that nature, and the players did everything that is within the rules, but they did try to lose on purpose to get the seeding they wanted (video here).
Unless I am mistaken, it is allowed to suck in sports (please look no further than the school eight miles down*), and as for intentionally sucking? People do it all the time.
Every year right before the massive sixteen teams playoff, there are NBA teams that wonder whether losing on purpose would give them an edge in seeding**. Professional teams in the NBA, NFL, and MLB all rest starters after realizing they are playoff-bound, and from a more personal experience, I once “guarded” Brian Zoubek in a game of basketball, and I am pretty sure he intentionally sucked to make me feel better because at one point, I somehow ended up with the ball.
In the Olympics, favored swimmers never go all out in the preliminary heat to save energy, and in this year’s Tour de France, Wiggins slowed himself down to let his teammate win a stage in the technically individual event.
Of course, there are other “negative tanking” examples in this year’s Olympics: Makhloufi from Algeria, who claimed he was hurt during an 800 meter heat, used his fresh hurt legs the next day to blow away the field in the 1500 run. He was originally expelled from the Olympics, but fortunately for him, he was able to find one doctor that says he knee was hurting. Also, the Japanese women’s soccer coach openly admitted that he instructed his team to tie South Africa so they can play in a more favorable location.
Some of these are considered acceptable (Wiggins was actually praised, and I appreciate Zoubek for letting me touch the ball), and some, not so much. So why are people so angry with these badminton players? And Makhloufi?
Because they took intentional losing to a whole new level? Because the fans who paid to go did not get to see what they wanted? Because it violated the sacred Olympics spirit? Because it was unethical?
They were just trying to win the gold medal while staying within the rules. Yeah, it was ugly, but the Chinese didn’t want to play the only other Chinese group so they can both medal, which is usually the case when it comes to badminton. As for Makholoufi, he just wanted to make sure he brings back the fifth gold medal in Algeria history. It wasn’t within the Olympics spirit, but it didn’t warrant being kicked out of the competition, it certainly wasn’t as offensive as the tweets (see here and here).
It can probably be argued that the badminton players had an obligation to make sure the fans get what they wanted, but by the same logic, they also have the same obligation to their country to try their best to win the gold. Yes, sports are all about trying your best in the events, but they are also about using strategies (AKA, smart ways to win within the rules).
So was it ethical for the badminton players to throw away matches like that? Probably not, but I also don’t think what they did was so unethical that they deserved to be expelled from the Olympics. Though I do think Makholoufi should get kicked out for lying, I do not think he should had been expelled in the first place for stopping in the race.
People may disagree, but we can all at least agree that NBC really should do better.
*just kidding, Tar Heels, looking forward to another great rivalry year
** losing on purpose in basketball would be really comical if both teams tried – imagine flipping the court and many, many, fouls. I wonder which team would be the best at losing.
Chad, at least NBC covered something! KBC had zero coverage!!
Talking about the Olympic spirit in general, I believe that spirit is a very inconsiderate spirit at its best. How do you have more than 15 events in swimming alone? Tell me, how many countries in Africa and the developing world in general can afford to built Olympic size swimming pools? Very few! Kenya, for example, has only 2 public Olympic size swimming pools and they are both in Nairobi! How then do you expect Kenyans to participate in such events? How does the Olympic committee justify such injustice? Why doesn’t it try and include more sports that do not require expensive equipment for the sake equity? As far as I can see, the medals in the Olympics are reserved for the countries with the highest per capita income! It is an exclusive event!
Concerning badminton, no rule says that you are not allowed to lose to a weaker team. How do you tell whether someone lost intentionally or not? Even if they did not play to their best, I do not believe that they had an obligation to entertain the fans. The only obligation they had was to win a medal within the confines of the game…
Hi Leonard! I completely agree with you that it is not fair at all – and I think that’s something we might just have to deal with, for now. Sports itself is a luxury – something that reflects the resources and free time of a nation. Just basing it on sports I am more familiar with, not all families can afford the luxury of having a “soccer mom” or “soccer dad,” and there are also sports with higher entry costs – such as golf, gymnastics, and equestrian. LIke you said, the podium is certainly exclusive – almost reserved for certain countries. Even in sports that you might not consider to be “expensive,” such as 100 meter dash, it still helps to have world class nutritionists, trainers, coaches, and of course, facilities. I doubt Michael Phelps would win all those medals if he was born in war torn Somalia.
As for badminton, the players were so blatantly bad that it was very not fun to watch after the first two minutes, and that’s why people are so upset (the players really need to work on the art of intentionally losing). I agree with you that the badminton players can do whatever they want as long as it is within the rules. The IOC should really blame itself for creating the system, and not expel the players for trying their best to win gold.