"Sometimes people think that if you're always helping people up and never hit someone with a hard foul, you're automatically a good sport. I don't believe that"
About this Quote
Sue Wicks challenges the habit of equating politeness with sportsmanship. Helping an opponent up after a fall looks gracious, but it can become a performance of virtue rather than the substance of it. Sportsmanship is not the absence of edge; it is the presence of integrity while playing hard. In basketball, a hard foul can be a legitimate, strategic act within the rules to prevent an easy basket or to establish physical presence. The line is not between soft and tough, but between fair and dirty: intent, control, and respect matter more than optics.
Wicks came of age in a sport and an era where womens basketball was constantly measured against expectations of niceness. Female athletes were often praised for being likable and criticized when they displayed overt physicality. Her stance pushes back on those gendered standards. Competing fiercely is not a moral failing; it is part of honoring the game. A player can deliver a hard, legal foul, accept the whistle without complaint, avoid cheap shots, and still be a better sport than someone who smiles, offers a hand, and then flops, complains, or bends the rules.
The comment asks us to judge character by the less visible choices: preparation, honest effort, accountability, and consistency under pressure. It reframes sportsmanship as a covenant with the game and the opponent rather than a collection of gestures. Courtesy is meaningful when it grows from respect, not from a desire to appear good.
Beyond basketball, the point applies to workplaces and relationships. Niceness without fairness or responsibility is hollow. Real respect allows for boundaries, firmness, and difficult decisions made openly and ethically. Wicks reminds us that goodness in competition is not sentimental; it is disciplined. The truest sign of a good sport is the competitor who plays hard, plays fair, owns the consequences, and leaves the opponent and the game intact.
Wicks came of age in a sport and an era where womens basketball was constantly measured against expectations of niceness. Female athletes were often praised for being likable and criticized when they displayed overt physicality. Her stance pushes back on those gendered standards. Competing fiercely is not a moral failing; it is part of honoring the game. A player can deliver a hard, legal foul, accept the whistle without complaint, avoid cheap shots, and still be a better sport than someone who smiles, offers a hand, and then flops, complains, or bends the rules.
The comment asks us to judge character by the less visible choices: preparation, honest effort, accountability, and consistency under pressure. It reframes sportsmanship as a covenant with the game and the opponent rather than a collection of gestures. Courtesy is meaningful when it grows from respect, not from a desire to appear good.
Beyond basketball, the point applies to workplaces and relationships. Niceness without fairness or responsibility is hollow. Real respect allows for boundaries, firmness, and difficult decisions made openly and ethically. Wicks reminds us that goodness in competition is not sentimental; it is disciplined. The truest sign of a good sport is the competitor who plays hard, plays fair, owns the consequences, and leaves the opponent and the game intact.
Quote Details
| Topic | Sports |
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