The idea of a level playing field, which today typically means a field with no unfair advantage to any team or individual, had a much broader meaning in the early days of sport. To Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a level playing field meant that the prince and the pauper were equals on the green field of sport. In his view, sport had an equalizing impact that leveled off the social differences between teammates and opponents. And everything from training and preparation to competition contributed to the egalitarianism he sought to promote, believing sport would provide an effective model of socialization for the rest of society. He articulated this point in 'Sport and the Social Issue,' an article that appeared in the August 1913 issue of the Olympic Review.

"Egalitarianism does not arise and is not sustained on its own anywhere but on the playing field ... Yet egalitarianism is not engendered by the athletic act alone, but by the details that surround it, that prepare for it, and that follow after it, as well. More often than not, this all calls for a good dose of manual labor. Once a fellow worker lends you a hand, you must return the favor when necessary, without the slightest concern for social rank between the parties."