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Sportsmanship In Sports

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Marcus Garvey once said, "A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." So, as I often do on weekends, I ventured into the past, to keep rooted in the present, so that I'm prepared for the future. Last weekend, I read an article published in 1931 by the Sydney Morning Herald about a staggering professional contract offered to Australian, Sir Don Bradman, the number one batsman in the world then, and the most dominant batsman Test cricket has seen. The contract was worth potentially £500-1000 per year for three years and was offered to him by the Accrington Cricket Club, a once prominent cricket club in Lancashire, England. As I read the article and later perused the offer telegram …show more content…

We see it all year round in the different T20 leagues: the Indian Premier League, Australia's Big Bash, the Caribbean Premier League, and others. This applies not only to cricket but a majority of sports worldwide, and in the USA. America's two most popular sports: Basketball with the NBA, and American Football with the NFL, stand out in this regard. Pure sportsmanship in sports is a fading cloud of smoke. Most sports today are marred with unsportsmanlike conduct on all ethical levels, and is littered with the often rewarded and celebrated 'win at all cost' attitudes. Fairness and following the rules of the game is selective, and doping among other infractions are rife, and continuously slice through sportsmanship like a knife. Footballers dive to win penalties; cricketers appeal catches not taken cleanly; cricketers don't walk when a catch is taken cleanly, though knowing they edged the ball; footballers and basketball players instigate confrontations, or fake contact with opposing players to get them sent off; in the recent past and present, athletes dope to run faster, cyclists dope to ride quicker and farther, and baseball players dope to hit homers more frequent and further. In today's world of professional sports, pure sportsmanship is seemingly a façade or is …show more content…

Yearly auctions are held that see cricketers bought and sold like merchandise or footballers, and it's not limited to cricketers. Basketballers, American footballers, baseball players endure the same seemingly free trade actions. This clearly shows how the attitude towards sports, and especially cricket, has evolved. I presume the purists of yesteryear would leap from their graves in protest. However, if we are remiss and forgetful, there are living purists among us who have been protesting - though ignored - about this regress or decline in the standards of amateurism, sportsmanship, and nationalism due to professionalism in sports. Recently, some West Indian cricketers have chosen lucrative offers over nationalistic or regional pride, and you cannot blame them. They have learned from the mistakes of their sporting forefathers. Money has more value than pride in determining their livelihoods and that of their families in today's

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