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?