A Lesson in Ethics from German Soccer Playing Great, Miroslav Klose — What a Contrast with How Our Political and Economic Leaders Act

© 2012 Peter Free

 

27 September 2012

 

 

Miroslav Klose is a name that people who follow international “football” instantly recognize

 

Not only has the man been an outstanding player in a sport filled with talented prima donnas, he exhibits old-fashioned ethics.

 

 

Honesty, even when it hurts

 

From sports writer, Frank Wagner:

 

Striker Miroslav Klose had used his hand to direct the ball past the keeper and into the net.

 

This wasn't the first time for such an occurrence. In the 1986 World Cup match between Argentina and England, Diego Maradona clearly used his hand to score a goal that many called "The Hand of God." In a 2007 La Liga match against Espanyol, Lionel Messi scored a goal with his hand. In each case, the Argentine perpetrator pretended the goal was legitimate, and the referee allowed it.

 

So what happened in Italy on Wednesday? The German legend immediately raised his arm to alert the referee of the infraction. Then, while all of his teammates attempted to hold him back, Klose went to the referee and had him disallow the goal.

 

Even the Napoli players were shocked by how honest Klose had been, patting him on the head and acknowledging their thanks of his sportsmanship.

 

From there, Lazio went on to lose 3-0 to Napoli as Edinson Cavani netted a hat trick.

 

© 2012 Frank Wagner, Watch Miroslav Klose Put the Ball in the Net with His Hand and Admit It to Ref, Bleacher Report (26 September 2012) (with embedded video)

 

 

Frank Wagner’s perspective on this incident

 

He wrote:

 

[O]n a moral level, the move was one of the most high-class acts in recent sporting memory.

 

For a player who is second all-time by one goal in World Cup goal scoring, such a down-to-earth approach to the game is more than refreshing.

 

Klose has become the model of professionalism in football and is someone whom all young footballers should look up to.

 

© 2012 Frank Wagner, Watch Miroslav Klose Put the Ball in the Net with His Hand and Admit It to Ref, Bleacher Report (26 September 2012)

 

 

I would expand Klose’s example further

 

Americans unfamiliar with soccer won’t realize how important even a solo goal is in the game.  Even when he displayed it, Miroslav Klose knew that his integrity would come at a potentially high cost.

 

That prioritization of ethics against self-service is something anyone can learn from.  Especially America’s perennially lying, selfishly-minded politicians and the publics that are too frequently fooled into voting for them.

 

 

The moral? — Whom we choose as heroes matters, even in spiritually subtle ways

 

Genuinely ethical behavior is for always and everywhere.