Cheaters Never Prosper
There was a time when cheating brought with it the stigma of embarrassment, turning a person into a social outcast. There was a time when the phrase cheaters never prosper resonated in the minds of people looking for integrity, causing them to think twice before cheating, and in many cases, stopped a person from cheating. But, such is not the case these days. Instead, cheaters seem to be exalted. As a matter of fact, cheating seems to be expected in many arenas.
Barry Bonds*, the poster boy for cheating with steroids, gets defensive when it’s pointed out that he cheated all the way to the record books. When he found out his record breaking baseball would end up in the Baseball Hall of Fame with an asterisk
on it, Bonds* said if the ball is placed in Cooperstown with an asterisk on it, he would never set foot in the building. Reality is this, Bonds* shouldn’t even be considered for the hall of fame. Pete Rose will never be named to the baseball hall of fame because of gambling. If Rose will never find himself in the hall of fame, why should Bonds* show up there.
What does all of this mean? Apparently the phrase cheaters never prosper has morphed into cheaters are made hero’s.
Another example of this line of thought comes from the NASCAR racing world. The Joe Gibbs Racing organization is facing heavy fines in light of events from the Nationwide NASCAR series race over the weekend. After the race the team was found to be cheating by placing magnets on the gas pedals of the 18 and 20 car. Some may wonder, what’s the big deal about magnets. Apparently they were placed on the pedals to trick the DYNO testing into thinking they were getting less horsepower than the engines were really turning. In the big picture, that means many of the wins Kyle Busch has racked up this year now come into question. His team was cheating. If they were cheating in the Nationwide Series, chances are good they were probably cheating on the Cup side of the series too.
Now, here’s the amazing thing. In the midst of the cheating scandal, ESPN’s NASCAR panelist Brad Dougherty said, “At least JGR were cheating honorably.” Say what!? Talk about an oxy-moron. Cheating is cheating and there’s no way to do so honorably. Maybe we now know how Dougherty became a star in the NBA. Maybe he figured out how to fool himself into thinking cheating is honorable.
So, does cheating pay off in the end? Absolutely not. Ohio State psychology professor Sara Staats and her fellow researchers, Julie Hupp and Heidi Wallace went down a different road on an all too familiar subject to find students who were less inclined to be deceitful when it comes to getting better grades. Close to half the respondents in a survey said they definitely would not cheat in the future, while the rest either claimed they would cheat, or hadn’t made up their minds about it. The non-cheaters seemed to score higher when it came to admirable qualities such as courage, empathy and honesty.
What does all of this mean? The old adage cheaters never prosper, can still hold true for today. Cheating leads to excuses, and according to the results of the Ohio State University survey, cheating erodes ones courage, empathy and honesty. Announcers such as Brad Daugherty and others who elevate cheating, should be ashamed of themselves.
Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus
