ABSTRACT
Any serious evaluation or moral critique of coaching ethics must include a close inspection of intimidation and bullying by coaches as a means of gamesmanship. There are numerous species in the genus of gamesmanship. These include attempting to gain competitive advantage by manipulating but not actually violating the rules, withholding information, practicing outright deception, or using intimidation in its various forms. This chapter focuses on the use of intimidation as it intensifies into bullying, which includes nonphysical ploys primarily expressed as verbal intimidation and threats or actual physical violence. Coaches use intimidation as a form of gamesmanship to gain an advantage over their opponents by breaking the will of the officials, the opponents, or their own players so they can improve their positioning in sporting contests. When understood this way, intimidation is nearly synonymous to bullying. Bullying generates different responses: outright fear and fearful anxiety; both include fear of humiliation.
