Are you a Sports Junky

The relationship between sports and politics cannot be ignored for the simple reason that both have had a profound influence on each other. This was especially seen when the social evil of apartheid was on official display in South Africa. The policy of Apartheid, where the black community was discriminated against, had far reaching effects. Many sports people then, to salvage sport from the evil, adopted a conscientious approach that they would not take part in competitive sports in South Africa.

The decision was met with mixed sentiments from followers of sports around the world. While some felt that this stand was an effective contribution to the removal of the unjust policy of apartheid, others felt that it unnecessarily prolonged and reinforced its worst effects! Another show of relationship between politics and sports was the Summer Olympics of 1936, in Berlin. It was a perfect show of an ideology that was developing to strengthen through propaganda.

Professional sports have evolved from the entertainment aspect of sports. This has been fuelled by the spread and strong influence of mass media, which includes television, newspapers, magazines and even the internet. Today, there is an increase in the leisure time that people have on hand and this has subsequently led to the element of professionalism in sports. There has been some conflict though, especially where the money involved in a particular sport is weighed as more important than the recreational aspects associated with it.

Today, sportsmen are not only paid whooping sums to play the game, but are also media partners who rake in the moolah by endorsing a number of commercial products. The sports world has changed and the whole endeavor is to simply make every sport more profitable and popular, and in the bargain lose the valued traditions on which the very ethics were initially spelt out. The entertainment aspect of sports now includes the fact that every sportsperson has achieved celebrity status!

Sports activates, in the name of competition, have seen phases or instances of violence thrown into the field, much to the destruction of sport ethics and the amusement of the media and onlookers. Relatively recent sports have become popular but unmodified pursuits in various forms for different lengths of time have paved the way for unethical behavior. The formal regulation of sport is modern and yet developing.

Sportsmanship, in a way, involves the competitor’s actions before, during, and after the competition. It is very essential to display good sportsmanship on winning and losing. Violence in sports involves defying regulations. It involves crossing the delicate line between fair competition and intentional aggression. There have been many instances where not only athletes, but also coaches, fans and parents of sportspersons have unleashed violent behavior. These misguided displays of loyalty, dominance, anger and celebration have destroyed many a competition. Today, riots and hooliganism have become common at national and international sporting contests