We’ve all heard of sore losers. But what about intentional losers?
Let’s start with Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic, who was fined $56,100 in 2019 for not trying hard enough in his first-round Wimbledon loss to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. According to the BBC, Tomic lost in straight sets in just 58 minutes, the shortest Wimbledon match since 2004.
Bernard Tomis (photo courtesy CODE Sports)
It’s instructive to hear what Tsonga said about being handed the win over Tomic. “For me, it’s like what I did was not win,” he said in a press conference. “It’s like I was just here and won because they said he didn’t play enough.” That’s just one of the effects when someone tanks a match.
Before a rule change in 2018, professional tennis players who qualified for one of the four Grand Slam tournaments could start play in a first-round match, retire (quit) during the match, and still collect the full loser’s share of the prize money. A lot of players were cashing in. Under the new rule, an injured player who withdraws before a Grand Slam tournament receives 50 percent of the prize money customarily given to first-round losers. Their replacement player gets the other 50 percent (if they lose).
The new rule helps players who did not qualify but would have had a slot if an injured player had chosen not to accept the invitation to the tournament. Also, a player who competes in a first-round singles match and retires or performs below professional standards may be fined up to all of the player’s first-round prize money.
It is not the first time the rule has been applied. American Anna Tatishvili was fined $50,000 at the 2019 French Open after losing 6-0, 6-1 to Maria Sakkari of Greece. Mischa Zverev was fined $45,000 at the 2018 Australian Open after retiring in the second set of his first-round match.
Sam Hinkie (photo courtesy Bleacher Report)
As long as we’re handing out fines for not trying, why not fine the entire Philadelphia 76ers organization and former general manager and president of basketball operations Sam Hinkie? Philadelphia’s now infamous “Trust the Process” method of losing for years to stockpile the best draft picks paid off. They selected Joel Embiid, the 2017 NBA Rookie of the Year, in the 2014 draft and reached the conference semifinals the following season.
Strangely, many 76ers fans idolize Hinkie. During the 2018 playoffs, they sometimes chanted TRUST-THE-PROC-ESS instead of DE-FENSE or LET’S-GO-SIX-ERS. Embiid loves Hinkie and embraces “the process.”
Although no NBA general manager would publicly admit it, teams are racing to the bottom of the standings toward the end of the season to get the best draft picks.
It’s hard to argue with the 76ers’ results. But is there still a thing called ethics in sports? Is it ever okay to lose on purpose? Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves says no.
Rudy Gobert told Sports USA: I don’t believe in tanking, all that stuff. I believe you learn how to win by winning. You don’t learn how to win by losing purposefully to get a 19-year-old you’ve never seen.
If you want to see an absolute travesty, look on YouTube for the badminton doubles match in the 2012 Olympics in London. Teams from China, South Korea, and Indonesia were disqualified for “not using one’s best efforts to win a match.” There’s an understatement for you. They hit fault after fault, bashing the ball into the net so they could face an easier opponent in the next stage of the round-robin tournament.
One ugly incentive for losing on purpose has always been money. The Black Sox scandal of 1919 is a classic example. If you know little about it, watch the film Eight Men Out.
Match fixing has been all too common in many sports, including cricket, football (soccer), tennis, and even college basketball (point-shaving).
The “losing on purpose” discussion may have some shades of grey. For example, a runner in a preliminary track meet may not go all out to conserve energy for the final. I don’t think anyone could argue that that is morally wrong. Similarly, baseball managers commonly rest their best players after clinching the league title so that they are fresh for the playoffs. There is nothing wrong with that, either.
Losing on purpose is a different animal, and I think people generally know when they’ve crossed the line. And what is the impact on young people who see this behavior in the athletes or coaches they admire?
Jack Bowen, Santa Clara University School of Law: Once you instruct a child, ‘Don’t be your best,’ or even ‘Be your worst,’ you’ve considerably diminished the opportunity for that individual’s character growth on intentional losing. Undoubtedly, one characteristic we value in individuals is the drive to be one’s best. Once we accept this as our foundation, evaluating actions within sport, such as intentionally losing, becomes much easier.
Trust the process? How about trusting your instincts? Do your best.
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This column, which has been contemporized, first appeared in The Vacaville Reporter on July 15, 2019.
