Sep17200912:18 p.m.
Fair Play?
Is it just me, or has the world of sport gone a little bit mad? Cheating, bending the rules, cynical play-acting, call it what you want, but so many sports seems to be mired in controversy right now. But Formula One is in a class of its own currently. Renault are in big trouble over ‘crashgate’ – the allegation that they ordered Nelson Piquet Jnr to deliberately crash at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix so teammate Fernando Alonso could win the race.
In The Times this morning Simon Barnes has described it as the worst act of cheating of all time. And that got me thinking. Is it? As Mr Barnes points out, there is Maradona’s Hand of God and Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul Olympics? But what about all the cyclists caught doping at the Tour de France over the years. And let’s not forget the slightly farcical sight of Harlequins winger Tom Williams spitting blood from a capsule out of his mouth which has so recently captivated the rugby authorities. What do you think? The most depressing thing is, once you start thinking about it, you can’t stop, because there are so many examples of it.
Happily though, there is the prospect of Strictly Come Dancing to cheer us up. They’ll be no cheating there I hear you cry. Our man Chris Hollins is in fine form ahead of his twickle-toed debut tomorrow night. He has been training like a madman and is having a ball (no pun intended… really). He tells me the hardest thing to get right is remembering the beats. Apparently you don’t move on the first beat, you start your steps on the second beat, which is hard to get. Frankly I still don’t get it and no amount of him trying to show me helped one bit!
However he did reveal one little nugget of information. In these days of scrutiny over the use of public money, you will all be thrilled to hear that Hollins found himself at the same bus stop the other day as a certain Martina Hingis. Hollins was on his way home from the office I might add, so this TV lark isn’t quite as glamorous as you might think. And the former Wimbledon champion has also been seen playing on public tennis courts in London. No really. An athlete with a grip on reality. If only some other sports could make that claim right now.
Post views 1371
Comments (2)
flanker2 'Me first again then Sue?..... Shocking, shocking, shocking, shocking! Where will it all stop now?......Is there no limit to the skulduggery these people are prepared to inflict on us? I mean really, what is the point in anybody watching, supporting, backing or trying to enjoy almost any sporting contest nowadays if we cannot at least be reasonably assured that the participants haven't or aren't cheating? To be honest, one of the only genuinely sporting contest I can think of is Snooker (which I love and have played a lot of). At least when one player, even at the very top level, commits a foul, and even when he knows nobody could possibly have seen it, he will instantly stand up and tell the ref he has fouled! True sportsmanship and no cheating. I know snooker isn't above it tho, bet fixing, losing matches on purpose etc! But it's really very difficult to find an honest example of an un-corrupted sport now! God even Rugby has been dragged thru the mire recently! I do think that the only way this can be dealt with is much more severe punishment. Whatever the sport, whowever the offenders. Instant dismissal, lifetime bans and huge fines, to stamp it out at grass roots level and stop showing the up and coming sports people of the future that it's OK to cheat as long as you get away with it! Why should we, as the paying public and supporters, pay to support a completely corrupt industry?... Why shouldn't we be able to just say NO! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?' added 17th Sep 2009
Report as inappropriate
Johnf 'Many of course will blame the financial rewards but I wonder how much cheating did used to happen 10s of years ago before most sports become professional. You certainly wouldn't have known about it all those years ago as quickly as we do today. But the truth could be that again it is just a general lowering of standards in society generally. Conclusion: Blame politicians (in any country.' added 17th Sep 2009
Report as inappropriate