Misconduct | What’s the greatest act of sportsmanship you’ve seen (in person or on video)?

After an edition devoted to reprehensible acts, we tip our hats to the most beautiful gestures of sportsmanship that we have witnessed (in person or on video).

Simon Olivier Lorange

On June 2, a terrible scene darkened the victory of the Canadian against the Winnipeg Jets, in raising the curtain of their second round series. We remember it (too) well: immediately after scoring in an empty net, Jake Evans was attacked by Mark Scheifele, who had crossed the ice at full speed to reach him. The scrum broke out on the ice in the second, but the Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers had the presence of mind to get between Evans and the furious group of players. On the recovery, we even see the number 27 in blue pushing with all his might on the herd so that the line judge and a sports therapist can rescue the inanimate CH skater. I was in Winnipeg that night, and Scheifele’s assault remains to this day one of the most violent I have seen. Everyone in the arena was in shock. The intervention of Ehlers will have at least brought back a little humanity on the ice. The next day, when the suspension at Scheifele had not yet been announced, Habs head coach Dominique Ducharme took the trouble to highlight the gesture of the Dane, whom he had managed for two years with the Mooseheads. of Halifax, in the QMJHL. “He did everything to protect Jake. I appreciate what he did,” said the Quebecer.

Nicholas Richard

At the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, where we will later learn that Russia orchestrated the biggest doping scandal in sports history, a Canadian came to the rescue of a Russian cross-country skier. Although he was one of the favorites of these Games, Anton Gafarov had stumbled at the start of one of the races. His left ski had broken on the sequence. The more the race progressed, the more the condition of his ski deteriorated. Gafarov could do nothing. He was dead last, since he was skiing on one and a half skis. On one of the last runs of the course, his ski was broken, bent and soft. He fell again. After the cross-country skier struggled to his feet, Justin Wadsworth, one of the Canadian team coaches, arrived at the race with a ski in hand. He stopped Gafarov, removed his broken ski and replaced it with a new ski. The Russian was able to finish his race with dignity. That’s the Olympic spirit. Wadsworth proved it well during this day, by going there with a gesture of sportsmanship that goes far beyond the competition.

Guillaume LeFrancois

Sportsmanship also includes the attitude towards the referees. In that regard, former Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga deserves our admiration for his reaction to Jim Joyce. On June 2, 2010, Galarraga was perfect after eight and two-thirds innings when Jason Donald hit a ground ball between first and second base. Donald was ruled safe at first base, though replays showed he was out by half a stride. Galarraga, a 28-year-old pitcher who was living in the majors, was thus deprived of his moment of glory. Imagine: it would only have been the 21^and pitcher in major league history to hit a perfect game. He could have easily lost his temper with the referee; many players and managers have done so for much less. The Venezuelan instead raised his arms in the air, said nothing, and even found a way to smile. Galarraga retired the next batter to confirm the Tigers victory. The next day, it was Galarraga who represented the Tigers for the handover of the starting formations, an operation over which a moved Joyce chaired since he was the referee behind the plate. A touching and classy moment.

Alexander Pratt

At the Seoul Games in 1988, Canadian Lawrence Lemieux was in second place in a sailing event when a gale swept across the bay. Two competitors from another race fell into the water. Lemieux saw them in the distance. He left the course of the Games to go rescue them. After saving the two sailors, he accompanied them back to the quay, then resumed his ordeal. Result: a 22^and square. The International Federation, moved by his gesture, gave him back his second place. However, he lost it again in subsequent races, eventually finishing 11^and. Nevertheless, Lemieux still received an Olympic medal, that of Pierre de Coubertin, for his sacrifice, his sportsmanship and his courage.

Mathias Brunet

Andy Roddick, the third tennis player in the world, is about to advance to the quarter-finals at the Italian Open on May 5, 2005. The American leads 7-5 and 5-3 at the expense of Spaniard Carlos Verdasco , 53^and global. This trails 0-40 on serve when he hits a second service ball called out by the linesman. Stepping towards the net to shake hands with the Spaniard after his (alleged) victory, Roddick realizes, with the trace left by the ball on the Italian red clay, that Verdasco’s serve ball had touched the line and report it to the referee. The meeting continues. Verdasco wins the other four points, the game and the following ones. He ends up winning 6-7, 7-6 and 6-4! Roddick, number one in the world in 2003 and champion of the US Open, would he have been so generous at 40-40? Perhaps. We’ll never know. But his gesture remains in the annals of tennis as one of the great proofs of sportsmanship.

Simon Drouin

At the Beijing Olympics, Kai Verbij got up at the crossroads of the 1000m to avoid harming his vis-à-vis Laurent Dubreuil, who was heading for the silver medal. The rules are clear: the Quebecer, who came out of the inner lane, had priority. But the Dutchman, reigning world champion over the distance, could have tried it. If he passed, he would certainly have fought for the podium. In the event of contact, he would have been disqualified and Dubreuil would have been entitled to a resumption of the race. But with the effort he had just produced, his chances were nil. “I decided to give way because I didn’t want to spoil someone else’s Olympic performance,” Verbij said simply in front of the dozen journalists waiting for him. Dubreuil warmly thanked his rival… admitting he probably wouldn’t have been so magnanimous under the same circumstances.

Jean-Francois Teotonio

The gesture – the ultimate sacrifice if there ever was one – is beautiful. What led to this gesture, a little less. We are at the end of April 2019. Leeds United and Aston Villa face each other in an English second division match. Both teams are aiming for promotion to the Premier League. The issue is crucial. Perhaps that is why when a Villa player is lying on the ground in the 72^and minute, Leeds took the opportunity to score the 1-0 goal. A flagrant lack of sportsmanship. A scrum on the pitch ensues. Leeds supporters celebrate in the stands. To hell with fair play, promotion to the Premier League is more important. But what follows is much more pleasing for the neutral sports enthusiast. Less for Leeds supporters. Former Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa orders his players to let Aston Villa equalise. Some recriminate. Do not understand. We see him on the sidelines repeating his message to let the opponent play. But they adhere to it, not without flinching. The scene is special. As soon as play resumed, two Villa players rushed with the ball towards the home side’s net. A Leeds defender stands up to them. Without success. The match ended 1-1. A result which prevented Leeds from fighting for promotion to the Premier League. But if we win without sportsmanship, we win with what?

Richard Labbe

By agreeing to move from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings in October 1989, Herschel Walker made one of the greatest sporting gestures of all time: he created a single dynasty. Because by agreeing to move his talents as an overvalued halfback, he directly contributed to making the Cowboys of the 1990s the greatest club in the history of mankind. It’s that in return for Walker, the Cowboys got about 55 players and draft picks (I’m exaggerating, but only slightly), and among all those names was a certain Emmitt Smith, who became the greatest running back in history, just that. So Herschel Walker, to this day, and after all these years, millions of Cowboys fans say thank you. You could have refused the trade or retired, but no. You valiantly chose to scurry off to allow the Cowboys to get rich off your back. Cheer ! And now, you could also choose to clear out of the political arena.

Jean-Francois Tremblay

In 1992, Britain’s Derek Redmond was aiming for a medal in the 400m. He had missed his appointment in 1988 by retiring for injury 10 minutes before his race. Four years later, it was his moment of redemption. He had recorded the best time of his qualifying wave for the semi-finals. The medal was within reach. Then, in the semi-final, after 250 m, the horror. Hamstring injury. Redmond falls to his knees, in tears. His Olympic dream is over. But he had promised himself, and had promised his father, that he wouldn’t let an injury rob him of his moment again. So he got up and started running on one leg, pain twisting his features. An official tried to stop him, but he pushed him away. He still had 150m to go. That’s when his father, Tim, came down from the stands to join his son on the track. He was intercepted by security, but made his way to Derek to help him run. Another official again tried to convince them to stop when the pain seemed unbearable, but this time it was Tim who pushed him away. The two men finished the 400 m arm in arm, in tears, walking, under the cries of the 65,000 spectators. Who remembers the winner? The Olympic Games are not just about medals.