Answer:
Athletes will often do anything to make the team. Whether they are coaches, managers, support staff or athletes, some members of a sports program may be after an athlete's starting position. When one has the potential to replace someone on an established roster; it will most likely mean that they will have to face many challenges and hardships in order to secure their position as a starter. In John Irving's novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany, the main character Johnny is faced with this kind of ethical dilemma.
Explanation:
Johnny is a brilliant baseball player and has extensive knowledge of the game due to being raised by his grandfather who used to play in the major leagues. He plays on a team called the Gravesend team and is determined to make it to the major leagues one day. Owen Meany, a friend of Johnny's who was adopted by his parents, is also on the team with him.
During tryouts for new players at Gravesend Academy, they are both faced with challenges that threaten their spots on the starting line up. It is then that Johnny has to rely on his knowledge of the game and moral values in order to make a decision.
In the book, Johnny was faced with a situation where he would have to choose between his friendship with Owen or making it on the roster as a starter. Ultimately, he decides to give up his spot on the roster for his friend because he knows that they both deserve to be starters on the team. Johnny didn't believe that he was good enough to be a starter and it would have been unfair for him to take Owen's spot. This is an example of an ethical decision, where Johnny made a choice based on what he believed in his heart was right rather than what was expected of him.
This is an important decision for Johnny because if he had made the other choice, it would have meant that he wasn't a good friend or teammate and didn't deserve to be on the team. It also could have sent a message to his father who had encouraged him to do whatever was necessary to succeed in sports.
"I can't do it. I won't take his place." "You have to," my father said.
"... There's no way you'll get on the team if you don't try out, if you don't give it your best shot -- not with your knowledge of baseball..." I didn't know how to say it... "I wouldn't feel right about it." "Why not?" my father said. "Why wouldn't you feel right about it? It's a game, Johnny. You'll have to play against other people who want the same things as you do -- and if you don't quit now, there's no way of knowing how high you might go. Johnny, all you have to do is your best, and it's as simple as that." "It wouldn't be right," I said... "I couldn't do it to him..."(p.237-240)
There are many other ethical decisions throughout this novel such as when Johnny decides whether or not he should tell his mother about the "accident" in which he accidentally killed his best friend, Owen Meany.
