Anyone care to explain to the Olympics that the teams that were losing on purpose were actually playing to win the game in the seeding order? I do not understand why the hell the competition committee does not get that.
Anyone care to explain to the Olympics that the teams that were losing on purpose were actually playing to win the game in the seeding order? I do not understand why the hell the competition committee does not get that.
They get it. They're just pissed that they were made to look like fools. The real problem was that they did a round robin tournament instead of using single elimination for the whole thing. Then it caused them even bigger trouble because people paid money to watch those matches, and ended up seeing shit for shit. Therefore, they had to shift blame to the athletes to save their own asses. Just one more evil to put on the list of bad things about the Olympics this year.
4 badminton teams were in a position where they qualified for next round but still had matches to play. If they lost, they'd be given a weaker opponent in that next round, so they all started serving into the net intentionally. The crowd lost it's shit on them.
4 badminton teams were in a position where they qualified for next round but still had matches to play. If they lost, they'd be given a weaker opponent in that next round, so they all started serving into the net intentionally. The crowd lost it's shit on them.
4 badminton teams were in a position where they qualified for next round but still had matches to play. If they lost, they'd be given a weaker opponent in that next round, so they all started serving into the net intentionally. The crowd lost it's shit on them.
Also, they were disqualified yesterday.
Was it actually against the rules? Because if it isn't, that's a load of crap too.
Okay, there's a rule against "not using one's best efforts to win a match" which the players were clearly in violation of.
However, the allegation of "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" seems like a load of crap to me. The fault for that one lies with the organizers.
Okay, there's a rule against "not using one's best efforts to win a match" which the players were clearly in violation of.
However, the allegation of "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" seems like a load of crap to me. The fault for that one lies with the organizers.
Not using best efforts to win a match is a BS rule like the talking rules in Shadows over Camelot.
I don't have a problem with them being disqualified, because their actions where clearly against the rules. I can still voice my opinion that it's a BS rule, I just won't show any pity on the athletes.
Every competition is a test of "do everything physically possible to win without breaking any rules." There's more that can go into it than athletic ability. Hodor could probably win gold in the shotput, but he would probably waltz out there with no pants on and get disqualified.
I feel bad for the athletes. Why is everyone blaming just them? You know they were pressured into doing it for the sake of getting their country a medal. Sure they could have gone Ned Stark and done the "honorable" thing, but when no one had been punished for it before, why not play the sneaky way? Everyone does sneaky things in other sports, why not them? I'm also unsure as to whether it was made clear to the athletes that they would be disqualified if they kept doing it. You'd think their coaches or whoever would have changed their minds if they really thought they would be disqualified. Harrumph. e_e
I feel bad for the athletes. Why is everyone blaming just them? You know they were pressured into doing it for the sake of getting their country a medal. Sure they could have gone Ned Stark and done the "honorable" thing, but when no one had been punished for it before, why not play the sneaky way? Everyone does sneaky things in other sports, why not them? I'm also unsure as to whether it was made clear to the athletes that they would be disqualified if they kept doing it. You'd think their coaches or whoever would have changed their minds if they really thought they would be disqualified. Harrumph. e_e
It's a fair point that as much as the athletes want those medals, they want to face the repercussions of disobeying orders of their home countries even less. Would give me pause before continuing to throw the athletes under the bus, as they have been put in a bad position.
The game isn't a test of how well you can manipulate the system. It's a test of athletic ability.
>Implying that using your brain to determine how to win a test of athletic ability is bad.
I would liken their tactics to the use of the Speedo LZR swimsuit at the last Olympics. The suites were banned afterword but the athletes that used them didn't have their medals seized.
The rules of the game put everyone in a bad position. Those rules were a terrible idea to anyone who understands how games and sports work. You can't fault rational actors for acting in the interest of their stated goals: you make the rules such that the most rational action is also the most fair athletic competition. This is the Olympics' fault, no one else's.
Part of the issue is "gamesmanship" vs. "sportsmanship." A lot of sports/games/etc. have plenty of actions that are technically within the rules, but are considered "unsporting" to use. For example, stealing signs, a form of gamesmanship, is perfectly legal in baseball, provided you aren't using some crazy apparatus like a telescope in the bullpen to make it easier, but it's considered to be "unsportsmanlike" to do so. Football also has the "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalty, which is assessed to things that are technically within the rules of actual gameplay (i.e. taunting your opponent doesn't affect the way the game is played out, one way or the other, unless it upsets the emotional state of your opponent in a manner that affects his play), but that are still penalized (severely) for being "unsporting."
This badminton situation is definitely a case of unsportsmanlike conduct. The question is whether or not unsportsmanlike conduct should be penalized and, if so, how severely.
See, you're actually wrong about football. Unsportsmanlike conduct IS a rule in the NFL rulebook. It's vaguely defined as "Any act contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship," but it is still a rule in the books. In baseball there is nothing in any rulebook about stealing signs, not even something vague.
Games should be played according to their rules. If the game is failing because competitors are doing something within the rules that is detrimental in some way, then it is the fault of the rules. You can't fault a player for doing everything within their power to achieve their goal of victory.
There was a good article about this I found on Reddit I think. Lemme pull it up. Basically, the guy explains exactly why this is the fault of the Olympics and no-one else. Basically saying the things we've been saying, but with a bit more explanation for those of us a tad slow.
There was a good article about this I found on Reddit I think. Lemme pull it up. Basically, the guy explains exactly why this is the fault of the Olympics and no-one else. Basically saying the things we've been saying, but with a bit more explanation for those of us a tad slow.
Okay, l went to the Badminton World Federation's website (the governing body for Olympic badminton) and looked up their official rules. It turns out there are rules against deliberately throwing matches in the official rulebook:
16.6 A player shall not: 16.6.1 deliberately cause delay in, or suspension of, play; 16.6.2 deliberately modify or damage the shuttle in order to change its speed or its flight; 16.6.3 behave in an offensive manner; or 16.6.4 be guilty of misconduct not otherwise covered by the Laws of Badminton.
There is also a BWF Players' Code of Conduct rulebook that explicitly states that throwing matches is a violation of the rules:
4.1 Inappropriate conduct --snip-- 4.5 Failure to use best efforts Not using one’s best efforts to win a match.
So yeah, these players did break the rules by throwing matches.
Games should be played according to their rules. If the game is failing because competitors are doing something within the rules that is detrimental in some way, then it is the fault of the rules. You can't fault a player for doing everything within their power to achieve their goal of victory.
Sorry but this is a tiresome brand of pedantry. I shouldn't have to retain legal counsel to understand the rules of a sport, and that's where it will go if we have to explicitly define everything that a player might do contrary to the spirit of the game in extremely granular black and white.
Games should be played according to their rules. If the game is failing because competitors are doing something within the rules that is detrimental in some way, then it is the fault of the rules. You can't fault a player for doing everything within their power to achieve their goal of victory.
Sorry but this is a tiresome brand of pedantry. I shouldn't have to retain legal counsel to understand the rules of a sport, and that's where it will go if we have to explicitly define everything that a player might do contrary to the spirit of the game in extremely granular black and white.
Games are serious business. If you just want to fool around go play Candy Land with the babies.
The pedantry isn't even necessary. The BWF rules explicitly state that throwing matches is forbidden. They broke the rules, plain as day, and deserved to be penalized.
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However, the allegation of "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" seems like a load of crap to me. The fault for that one lies with the organizers.
Every competition is a test of "do everything physically possible to win without breaking any rules." There's more that can go into it than athletic ability. Hodor could probably win gold in the shotput, but he would probably waltz out there with no pants on and get disqualified.
I would liken their tactics to the use of the Speedo LZR swimsuit at the last Olympics. The suites were banned afterword but the athletes that used them didn't have their medals seized.
Also, Uchimura did some really good gymnastics! Team Japan got a gold!
This badminton situation is definitely a case of unsportsmanlike conduct. The question is whether or not unsportsmanlike conduct should be penalized and, if so, how severely.
Games should be played according to their rules. If the game is failing because competitors are doing something within the rules that is detrimental in some way, then it is the fault of the rules. You can't fault a player for doing everything within their power to achieve their goal of victory.
http://www.sirlin.net/blog/2012/8/1/playing-to-win-in-badminton.html
First, in the official laws of badminton, there appears to be a sportsmanship clause: There is also a BWF Players' Code of Conduct rulebook that explicitly states that throwing matches is a violation of the rules: So yeah, these players did break the rules by throwing matches.