In favor of participation trophies

By Casey Lartigue Jr.

NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo recently inserted himself into the debate about participation trophies, competition and failure. His team, the Milwaukee Bucks, got bounced out of the playoffs in the first round by the lowest-seed team in his division. At the press conference after the game, a reporter asked him, "Do you view this season as a failure?"

The Greek-born Antetokounmpo questioned what constituted failure. "Michael Jordan played 15 years. Won six championships. The other nine years was a failure? That's what you're telling me?" After some back and forth, Antetokounmpo said, "It's the wrong question. There's no failure in sports. There's good days, bad days; some days you are able to be successful, some days you are not. Some days it is your turn, some days it's not. That's what sports is about. You don't always win."

I also like the way the late South African leader Nelson Mandela has been quoted. "Sometimes I win, sometimes I learn."

That kind of view has come under attack in recent years when people (usually children) receive a trophy for participating in a contest or competition. The main opposing view is that participation trophies, and not acknowledging failure, builds up a false sense of self-esteem and even makes some people feel entitled. "Everyone's a winner" supposedly, waters down victories.

If an event organizer wants to celebrate everyone who joins or only highlight the top achievers, then what is wrong with either approach? Antetokounmpo didn't view the season as a failure, but ownership must have differently because Antetokounmpo's coach, who led the team to the NBA championship just two years ago, was fired last week.

Since 2015, I have been the architect of the Freedom Speakers International (FSI) North Korean Refugee English Speech Contest. As a sponsor of the first contest in February 2015, I had the power to decide how to reward participants. All seven participants received certificates and monetary prizes depending on how they placed (first to third place, and honorable mentions for others) and all were individually called to the stage.

The Shin and Kim Law Office became a sponsor from the second contest and from the 11th contest, the Korea Next Future Foundation came on board allowing us to increase the prize money. With the agreement of sponsors, we have added a Grand Prize so four people receive top placements. One South Korean staffer did question a few things about the contest but became an advocate after we explained the process of what it takes for North Korean refugees to get to the stage.

In my introductory remarks, I usually announce that I view it as a celebration, not as a contest. Typically about seven North Korean refugees who could not speak their minds when they were in North Korea and are denounced as "traitors" by the North Korean regime, now have the freedom to give original speeches in English about their own thoughts. That is worth celebrating, although yes, there is a contest going on and the contestants know it.

JeongCheol calls himself an "effort guy" because when he escaped to South Korea he only had his effort to make a new life for himself. He joined our contest three times but said he had "not gotten a good result." He showed rare excitement when he won the 14th contest and donated half of the prize money to our organization.

After competing twice, Cherie Yang let us know she was disappointed. As our second North Korean refugee ambassador, she believed she should have won the contest. Determined and experienced, she won our fifth contest and later used that speech as the foundation for her TEDx Talk in 2017.

Another North Korean refugee who joined us speaking English at the ABC level has participated in our contest about four times. After she received an honorable mention certificate, she called FSI co-founder Lee Eun-koo to ask about the certificate. In North Korea, she had been condemned to working in a coal mine and barely attended school. That participation certificate she won for competing in our speech contest was the first time she had ever won a certificate. She told Eun-koo that she didn't know what she should do with the certificate or what it meant. After we explained it to her, she said that her heart felt so warm and she appreciated our support even though she is not a high-level English speaker.

Several other North Korean refugees have talked about the wonderful learning experience they went through in competing ― and sometimes not winning― the speech contest. Their participation certificates may not rise to the level of competing for an NBA championship, but based on feedback we have received, they are glad they joined and often recommend it to other North Korean refugees. They don't always win, but they definitely learned.

Casey Lartigue Jr. (CJL@alumni.harvard.edu) is co-founder with Lee Eun-koo of Freedom Speakers International (FSI) and co-author with Han Song-mi of the book "Greenlight to Freedom."