Project Description

“You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims.”
– Harriet Woods

Sportsmanship (sports-man-ship) noun
1. conduct (as fairness, respect for one’s opponent, and graciousness in winning or losing) becoming to one participating in a sport.

In 2008 Western Oregon University and Central Washington were playing a college softball game to determine the league championship. With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon did something she had never done in a game in College or High School or even practice, she hit a homerun. But when she was rounding first base she landed funny on her leg and tore her ACL.

Unable to walk, she clung to first base. If she subbed out for another player, the homerun wouldn’t count, if she had a teammate help her, she would be called out. The Central Washington pitcher and third baseman got together with their teammates and decided they were going to carry Sara around the bases so she would get the homerun she deserved. They were under no obligation to do this and had they not, the homerun would not have counted. The Central Washington players were just doing what they thought was right in spite of it hurting the chances of them winning the game, they ended up losing
4-2 and ended their season.

It’s easy being a good sport when your team is winning by a large margin, but this team
showed their true selves by doing the right thing and helping Sara get her homerun.