Sporting Behaviour.

The strength of any sport is not based on the enthusiasm of its executive officers alone, but must have a solid foundation among the rank and file of its participants. For that reason it is the bounden duty of all athletes, be they wrestlers, runners, cyclists, oarsmen or boxers, to set a standard of behaviour, whether competing or not, that will bring credit to their chosen sport. It needs just one bad apple in a case to spread the rot to all the other apples, and this should always be kept in mind when athletes foregather. A word spoken to an erring one might save a popular sport from being dragged into the mire. In recent months boxing has suffered because no fewer than four professional boxers have been convicted of assault. As boxing is a sport encouraged in secondary schools it is essential that steps be taken to prevent a recurrence of the evil. It is not entirely the duty of the executive officers to prevent this undesirable feature; every boxer must take his share of responsibility.