Ethical Values In The 1920s

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During class, we viewed and discussed segments of films concerning ethical values in sport and academics during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1950s that clearly showed and proved how their formers values were really different than today’s ethical values. Throughout the films, very well known characters appeared such as Sandy Koufax, Nile Kinnick, Eric Liddell, and Tom Povich. First of all, Sandy Koufax is a former American Major League Baseball (MBL) left-handed pitcher that was most likely remembered as one of the outstanding Jewish athletes in American sports. He decided no to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur garnered national attention as an example of conflict between professional pressures and personal beliefs. …show more content…

For example, according to Sandy Koufax, he wanted to make people understand that they have to pride. He believed that everyone should have pride, to stand up by yourself, and, overall, to be proud of yourself because by being proud of what we believe, we are going to be prouder of each other’s. Furthermore, Eric Liddell did not believe in playing sports on Sundays, even if it meant not participating in the Olympic event in which he had trained for many years. For that reason, he ended up running the 400-meter race and, surprisingly, he won. Aristotle’s “Golden Mean” defines excellence not as an act, but a habit: “ the good of a man is a working of the soul in the way of excellence/virtue in a complete life…” This perfectly summarizes what Eric Liddell risked in that extremely valuable race by following his soul feelings in order to act ethically with his beliefs no matter what. Moreover, during the football game between Iowa and Michigan, something happened during the last play that Michigan claimed the ball was fumbled before the goal line but Iowa insisted he had scored before Nile Kinnick dropped the ball. Nile Kinneck was Iowa’s best back and captain; therefore, he was asked a direct question from the official, which required an honest answer in