Courage in Sports

Watching Chinese sprinter Liu Xiang pull out of the competition due to injury was a poignant scene. The pain and disappointment for Liu and his fans were palpable. Liu handled the adversity admirably and commentators were quick to describe him as "courageous". But "courage" has become a much overused word in sports. If an athlete plays in pain that is not in of itself an act of courage. It is an individual, frequently a highly compensated one, doing something he or she loves to do, and which most people would gladly do for nothing. When Brett Favre played a football game right after the death of his father he was praised for his courage. But wouldn't anyone, in the midst of personal tragedy, find comfort and solace in doing what they do best? Wouldn't a musician want to play his instrument, or a writer put words on a page? Let's put things in perspective. Real courage is the soldier on patrol in a mountain pass in Afghanistan, or a single mother raising three children in a tough neighborhood.