Bottom Line Communications

   “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.”
    I can honestly say that of all the catchy sports phrases uttered throughout history, I hate that one the much. No other saying comes close.
    If anything defines this generation it is this phrase. Every time a team or player gets caught cheating it pops up. Most recently it arose when the New England Patriots were caught videotaping the opposing team’s signals during the game. 
   It took approximately two minutes for some sports wonk to utter the brilliant, “Well, you know what they say, Bill, ‘If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.’” My ears started to bleed.     
   “…Trying to steal signals is part of the game,” said retired Steeler Coach Bill Cowher. 
   For some reason that awful slogan first really resonated with me in 2004 after the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez was called out for trying to knock the ball out of the pitcher’s hand on a close play at first during game six of the American League Championship Series. Rodriguez slapped the ball out of Boston’s Bronson Arroyo’s hand in a clear case of interference.
   The next day I was listening to local radio sports talkers and a local former major leaguer joked, “Well, as they say Frank, ‘If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.’” They all gave a knowing laugh.
    Although I had heard the phrase numerous times previously, this time I knew the guy who was saying it. He had young children and I often saw them in church.
    I wondered if his kids were listening to daddy’s words of wisdom. I also wondered if his son got caught cheating on a test in school could he just say, “Well, dad you always said ‘If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying’ I was trying real hard to get a good grade and thought I would try cheating. You should be proud of me.”
    That’s what I find so damaging about that slogan. When a kid hears it does he/she think it is a cute sports slogan? Or do they think it is a slogan that they can apply to all aspects of their lives?
    I’ve taught college classes where students genuinely felt that the business world involved lying and cheating to get ahead. To them, lying and cheating for a better grade in class was perfectly acceptable. It was just applying real-life business concepts to school.
     When we tolerate cheating in sports and even think it is fine, aren’t we really sending a message to kids that the end justifies the means? If players can take steroids to play better and are idolized, why is it wrong for a kid to cheat on a test that might get him/her into a better high school or college?
    One of my favorite slogans is “What you do speaks so loud I can’t hear what you are saying.” Our kids are like eagles watching what we do all the time.
    When we tell them to play fair, but then (wink, wink) applaud cheaters, aren’t we really teaching them that cheating is okay?
    Instead of us saying, “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying” why don’t we just say that anyone who breaks the rules should be punished?
    Maybe we should try to tell kids that “Cheaters never prosper.” That’s really the lesson we want kids to follow, isn’t it?