There’s been talk about the 2016 presidential election being rigged, and I get it. No one likes to lose, including me. And while I don’t believe the political and financial elites running for office this year are being victimized by corrupt electoral officials, I do know a little something about feeling like the deck is stacked against you.
Since the inception of my school’s swim team three years ago, my swimmers have consistently finished last in the final championship 400-meter freestyle relay. By the time the race finishes, we are sometimes so far behind the other teams that fans in the stands stop cheering and just wait for our swimmer to make their final stroke. It always leaves me feeling sad and uncomfortable. It is easy to think that the whole race was rigged, that we worked too hard for this to be the result.
My reaction could be one of blathering bluster that the water was against us or that somehow the other teams or the race officials cheated. But I have more self-respect than to whine like that. I do know that competitive swimming is rigged against my students, but it has nothing to do with what happens in that pool. It is a symptom of the cascading effects of institutional racism and poverty.
My fight is with the systemic issues that lead to my team’s overall failure to compete with the students from suburban teams. From the poor quality of our city facilities and equipment to the transportation struggles that prevent students from swimming on club teams, my swimmers don’t have the opportunities for training and coaching that the suburban swimmers do. And these are only a few of the issues that contribute to a system that is rigged against my students.
The idea that sports are fair is a core belief in our country, and we use sports as a way to teach children that, through fair play and hard work, the best will rise to the top. We tell students that politics work the same way, that anyone can be president if they work hard enough. Looking at politics, my team represents a good analogy for how efforts like discriminatory voter-ID laws and inflexible polling hours prevent people from participating equally in our democratic systems.
Let’s compare the data for evidence that systems are rigged: According to USA Swimming, only 3 percent of their swimmers are African American while 13 percent of the U.S. population is African American. Looking at elected officials, 50 percent of Americans are female, yet women comprise only 19.4 percent of Congress. And there is a greater percentage of millionaires in Congress than is represented in the U.S. population. So, no, our systems do not give everyone an equal chance—but not in the way that is being suggested this election cycle.
My comparison differs, however, in the reaction to the results of these inequalities. My students and their competitors conduct themselves with dignity and honor. The other swimmers wait in the pool for my team to finish, as etiquette dictates in swim meets, and everyone shakes hands as they get out of the pool. As my swimmers take their seats after the race, they converse about who felt like they got a good start or whose feet slipped on the turn. Of course, they are disappointed by the results, but they continue to swim in the relays.
Last year, knowing the likely results of a particular relay, I asked my team if they even wanted to swim in it. They conferred, came back to me and said they wanted to swim; they love and respect the sport they have chosen and feel like they will learn how to be better people and swimmers from the result. Their validation comes from being named finalists for the Sectional Sportsmanship Award for two of the past three years. Sportspersonship speaks volumes and is much more valuable in our team’s development than a first-place trophy would be.
Political candidates and others could learn a lot from these young men and women but mostly how, in any competition, the winners and the losers can be models of dignity and perseverance. No matter the results of next week’s election, I hope the candidates and their supporters behave in a way that lifts our country up rather than tears us down.
Widmaier is an instructional coach and science teacher at World of Inquiry School #58 in Rochester, New York. He is also a recipient of the 2016 Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching.
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