When Ego Exceed Ethics

March 24, 2007

I have been a participant on the redfish tours for five years now and there is one thing that occurs over and over and over that never ceases to amaze me – cheating and the lack of rules enforcement.

There are episodes of cheating and serious rule bending at every event!

“No way”, you say.

“Never happen”, you say.

Wrong!! Happens every event. Every Event!!

Here are a few definitions of Cheater:

1. To deceive by trickery; swindle
2. To deprive by trickery; defraud
3. To mislead; fool
4. To elude; escape
5. To act dishonestly; practice fraud
6. To violate rules deliberately

Ego Exceeding Ethics!!

This occurs when the desire to be the hero, to bask in public acclaim, to finish high, to win, to be seen as one of the best exceeds the honorable action of playing fairly and by the rules.

It happens when cheating becomes “ok” because “everyone else is doing it”. It happens when you get away with it enough times because rules are not enforced – or worse – they are selectively enforced.

Now this is how I see it.

Rules are written in black letters on white paper for a reason – it’s a Black and White situation. There is NO grey on the rules sheet!

So, you either play by the rules or you don’t. Very simple. Two choices - play fair or cheat. There is no other option.

A competition is supposed to be a contest within certain parameters or rules. These parameters are there to make sure the participants each have an equal chance of winning based on the rules, the venue, and the actual participation. The only thing that is supposed to make a difference is individual ability. Those that are able to participate at a higher level of proficiency will finish high most of the time. That is it should be.

But, it is not!

It has become a game of who can circumvent the rules and get away with it. It has become a game of who can buy their way to the top. It has become a game of information cliques and illegal activities. It has become a game fraught with hazard for the honest participant.

Sadly, the cheaters – those whose ego exceeds their ethics – are being rewarded by the lack of rules enforcement. It really is getting to be quite an annoying situation

And it may get worse before it gets better unless those that are in charge of enforcement step up and do the right thing.

There is a “policy” that the tournament directors won’t tell what rule was broken, who broke it, or how. That’s not written in black and white anywhere that I can find. It’s more grey stuff. “It’s just policy”, they say. Well, I say it’s a self-serving “policy” that allows discrimination and selective rules enforcement.

Quite frankly, I think that I and every other honest participant have the right to know who cheated, what they did, and what their punishment is. If it was an innocent transgression so be it. Makes them head and shoulders above the rest for confessing it. But, if it is out and out cheating, tell all! Cheaters are thieves who deserve retribution and they should get it in spades.

Failed polygraph tests have been ignored in favor of certain participants. And those that are disqualified are done so very secretively. The rest of the field (who paid the same money to play and played fairly) don’t get to know anything about the situation. This “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy essentially protects the cheaters who are then loosed to ply their trade again at another tournament on the same unsuspecting participants.

Well, my oh my, we wouldn’t want to embarrass the cheaters now would we?

Personally, I think we should publicly post the names, pictures, dates, rules infractions, and how it happened. If it was inadvertent - great! We can respect that. That could happen to anyone.

But if it was intentional, punishment is in order and it should be swift, decisive, and appropriate. Then we would know who the cheaters are and what they are doing – and so would the rest of the world.

Don’t like that idea –tough! If the shoe fits put it on.

I assure you that if the cheaters and rules-benders in every tournament faced the possibility of having their name, picture, and infraction on the internet for all to see; the cheating would stop! Oh, there would be few left. But they wouldn’t last long. Cheaters are natural cowards and the fear of discovery and exposure would be a powerful motivator.

Webster’s defines a conundrum as:

Anything that arouses curiosity or perplexes because it is unexplained, inexplicable, or secret. A paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilemma.

And, a conundrum is exactly what we have here.

The cheating is going on. The cheaters are getting away with it. I know it, you know it, the tournament directors know it – and there’s the conundrum.

They know it but have not instituted procedures to stop it by exposing it. Pretending that it doesn’t occur is ridiculous. Secretly giving cheaters a private slap on the wrist is an insult to the rest of us.

Woe be unto the cheaters were I the director of these tournaments.

These are public events taking place on public property. As such, there is absolutely no expectation of privacy. It would be crystal clear that anyone caught intentionally cheating would be done, gone, fini, through, over. Never to return! Names, dates, places, and what was done would be reported just like any other public information.

“Too tough”, you say.

“BS”, I say.

Zero tolerance would be my credo. It would take exactly one episode, one cheater publicly busted, and it would be over. This is not a hard concept – rid the tournaments of all cheaters and send a strong message to anyone who might be thinking of cheating.

Absolutely zero tolerance should be the order of the day and we should accept nothing less.

I will leave you with a quote that inspires my life and my actions every day.

It was Aristotle who said:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

…….and so is cheating!

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