Rafael Nadal: A Great Tennis Player and a Very Good Sport

Article first published as Rafael Nadal: A Great Tennis Player and a Very Good Sport on Blogcritics.

I don't know about you, but I am sick of poor sportsmanship. I am really tired of all the players in different sports who don't adhere to the motto, "It's not if you win or lose but how you play the game." Sadly, in today's climate of sports becoming more and more like a business instead of it being purely a well-played game, the unsportsman-like conduct of players is overlooked in favor of the big bucks they generate.

When I look at sports players today, I see some good guys like Derek Jeter and David Wright, but then we get a story like the one about how some of the NY Jets players harassed a female reporter, and it seems like the good guys are an exception to the rule. There are more guys like Ben Roethlisberger and Plaxico Burress in the news than not. How sad for sports and all the kids who are watching.

That is why the story of Rafael Nadal is such a great one. While there are already people talking about him being the greatest player of all time, or being the biggest money-making brand in sports, the thing about Nadal is that he is the ultimate good sportsman. He is a genuinely nice fellow, just 24 years old, but he has a wisdom way beyond his years. He also carries himself like a gentleman, and that is a thing sorely lacking in sports for the most part.

Make no mistake, on the court he is a cunning and powerful opponent. No matter how much he likes Roger Federer, he knows how to take him apart and win a match. Nadal takes no prisoners, and that is as commendable as is his off the court behavior. Still, when the playing part is done, Nadal talks the talk of a good sport.

After winning the U.S. Open, Nadal was asked if he was now the greatest player in the game. It was one of those qualifying moments, those eerie silent seconds when the water dripping in the bathroom sounds like a geyser, but Nadal was ready with the perfect answer. He said that he had a long way to go for that, a long way to be as good as Roger Federer. There was applause, and his friend Federer smiled graciously on the sidelines. It was an ultimate sports moment handled with aplomb by Nadal. This is indeed what good sportsmanship is all about.

Long ago I had a baseball coach who said, "It easy to be a good sport, a good loser; the hardest thing to be is a good winner." Although I have forgotten that coach's name I have never forgotten those words. Never.

It is a shame that tennis is not a more kid-friendly sport. I wish more kids watched it because they would see in Rafael Nadal someone who is a good role model. He is a really great player, perhaps the greatest ever in his sport, but what makes him stand out is his ability to be a good winner.

These days to be gracious and humble in defeat is always a good thing, but to be so in victory elevates one to a higher level, a nobility that is truly fitting in the concept of good sportsmanship. After the U.S. Open Rafael Nadal proved that, even though he is the King of Tennis, he has the common touch. It would be a good idea for people involved in all other sports to take a page from his book.

 

Replay Has to Be Considered for All Sports

Article first published as replay-system-has-to-be-considered on Blogcritics.

The time has come to bring a replay system to all professional sports for disputed calls that will impact the outcome of the game. In the past, I have argued for replay in Major League Baseball, based on an early June game involving the Detroit Tigers. But just in the past week at the FIFA World Cup games and in another baseball game involving the (bad luck) Tigers, there were some very bad calls that changed the outcome of the final score.


California's Maurice Edu

In the USA soccer team's game against Slovenia last week, Koman Coulibaly - a referee who, for all we know, has cousins working as umpires at major league baseball games - made a terrible foul call on American midfielder Maurice Edu's goal, which would have given his team a 3-2 lead in the 85th minute. We cannot be sure how that impending victory would have changed things in the game USA lost against Ghana last Saturday, and maybe it would have meant nothing, but such an injustice has to do things to a team in a psychological sense that causes a difference in their playing mentality.

An opportunity to challenge the call using some kind of replay system would have proven that there had been no foul. Clearly, such a system would have also helped Frank Lampard, whose disallowed goal for England against Germany on Sunday would have proven to be what it was: a total disgrace of a call and maybe one of the worst calls in the history of sports.

Now, back to baseball.

We had the terrible call by umpire Jim Joyce on June 2nd that caused a pitcher, Detroit's Armando Galarraga, to lose a perfect game. Then on June 27, Detroit got burned by a bad call again, this time by umpire Gary Cederstrom, who admitted he made a mistake when he called a game-ending third strike on Tigers batter Johnny Damon with the bases loaded against the Atlanta Braves, who won by a score of 4-3.

Watching the replay, anyone could plainly see that the final pitch was outside. Damon correctly took the pitch, should have had a walk, and an RBI to tie the game at 4-4. Cederstrom's apology is all well and good, but Damon is still credited with being struck out and the Tigers have another game in their loss column.

Why is this all coming to the surface now? I think it's because both fans and players want and deserve better from game officials in all sports. It is just not acceptable for a referee or umpire to adversely affect the game with amateur-caliber calls, leaving room later for them (and everyone else) to second guess what they did. Right or wrong on a call, an umpire or ref should be held accountable, because he/she is a professional and there is more at stake than wins or losses: it's the integrity of the game.



Tennis seems to be way ahead of the pack here with the usage of Hawk-Eye replay used for close line calls. Tennis umpires use the system to settle all questionable calls at Wimbledon, and it is a much more equitable way of doing things than asking an umpire to make the call from a distance when it may not be possible to be certain. The replay takes away the second guessing of the players and the fans and seems to be the best way to settle disputes quickly and decisively.

Something does have to be done in all professional sports to alleviate the human error that we are seeing become more of a reality these days. Tennis has its replay system, and so does the NFL. Baseball has been reviewing questionable home run calls and that has been embraced by fans, and I think the next step is pretty obvious to everyone.

A manager or coach should have the right to dispute a call that impacts the outcome of a game. There should be a comprehensive and collegial attitude across the board from all parties that this is nothing but good for the game in their respective sport. Human beings can make mistakes, and this will alleviate all the after-the-fact apologizing and wondering, "What if?".

All the apologies in the world - or lack of them for that matter - do not hand a team a championship trophy it deserved. It is time to use the modern technology available in the interest of equity for players, coaches, managers, and those officiating a game.