Where Do We Draw The Line?

By Emma Letham

We’re living in an era where professional athletes are becoming constrained by tight expectations regarding their behaviour. There’s an incredibly thin line between being competitive and having a bad attitude, and in today’s society, where we strive to be politically correct in everything we do, the line has vanished and it’s impossible to distinguish acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

Athletes are only human and - just as we all do - get frustrated when things aren’t going their way or stressed when under a load of pressure. However, when they do get frustrated, all eyes are on them and they sometimes let out a few expletives. Obviously the action isn’t ideal, but don’t we all start running off profanities when we’re frustrated?

I’m not talking about loud sulking, I’m talking about the few mumbled words that happen to be caught by a microphone and are taken completely out of context. Sure, they’re trained to cope with these situations to a certain degree, but no one can absolutely repress their emotions.

It’s inane to think that the media expects athletes to be pristine, politically correct people all the time. This sort of pressure is almost equivalent to the pressure put on models to be a certain figure and shape. It’s just not possible for a large majority of athletes, even the professionals. 

Not only does this pressure harm the athletes, it takes away the heat of the contest, which creates the basis for sport in the first place. It’s what provides the spectators with something interesting to watch.

For example, I couldn’t imagine watching a game of cricket with no heated exchanges or no frustration - no atmosphere. However, that doesn’t mean that cricketers are bad sportspeople. In fact, they can be counted on to congratulate and acknowledge another team’s player for a fantastic knock or haul.

However, a lot of the time the sledges are taken out of context and are blown up completely out of proportion. 

Even at local level, as a cricketer myself, we are told not to use sledges at all. That rule includes the most harmless ones that are meant to get our blood pumping. It almost eliminates the whole reason for playing cricket, and all sports: to have some fun.

If we hold professional athletes to a standard that is impossible to uphold, they will lose their love for the sport. Without love for the sport they play, it’s impossible to enjoy it as a spectator. Therefore, we must loosen the strict social codes thrust upon professional athletes, and allow them room to be human.