Unethical behaviour has no place in sports

Today, when corruption and unethical practices have infiltered sports on so many levels, it is high time we wake up and take corrective measures. Every village around the world has some or the other form of sports. Even life should be taken sportingly, if we don’t take life sportingly, then there is a possibility of depression taking over life, and today that is one of the biggest issues in the world – people being depressed and engaging in violence. The way to remedy this is to engage people in creative and active sports, and not just computer games based on sports. This is a very important thing to do to maintain the health of society. 

Whether it is politics, economics, music, art, religion or sports, there is only one aim of all these avenues, and that is to bring happiness to the individual, to the environment, and to society. And sport is one of the most important tools to create happiness, harmony and well-being. 

Today, when we are ridden with so many conflicts around the world, sports can be that one thing that can bring people together. Now if this very important aspect of life is infested with unethical behavior, it is a matter of big concern. What is ethics? It is doing to others what you don’t want others to do to you. And in sports, when people are watching something to uplift their spirit, they believe in it, they have faith in it because it is the religion of the modern day. Though these unethical events are very few, they are being highlighted by the media. 

Sportsmen need to take care of their mental, physical and emotional well-being. Here, yoga, meditation, breathing exercises and encouragement towards developing a scientific temper can help sportspersons to sustain their energy. The other issue is competition which causes a lot of anxiety, uncertainty, and fear of failure. I usually tell athletes that you have only two options – ‘Either you win or you make others win’. So if you have made another win then you should be happy. If sportsmen and sportswomen move ahead in life with this attitude, then they will not go through so much stress and they don’t need to go for drugs and other substances. 

In India, in the ancient days, they always said that ‘Life is a game, don’t take it too seriously’. So have fun in life; whether failure or success, treat it equally. When you fail, that is a stepping stone to success. And when you succeed, then you need to think about how others feel when they fail. In a game, somebody is going to win, but that somebody’s win should be a celebration for everybody. If that is not the spirit, then it is not a game, it is a war, or business. So infusing this spirit in sports is important to uplift human consciousness. If this is not there, then we are missing something that is basic to sports. Sports has this special dimension that – you can be happy just by playing, keeping aside the results. In sports, your participation is more important, rather than the end result of a game. If we can bring this message loud and clear to the youth, then most of the soccer games around the world will have lesser violence, lesser problems and lesser work for the police force.