Show me a little respect (me = the sport)

So - let’s get this straight......  A player refuses to come on as a substitute when his team is in trouble - and the world is up in arms about how he must be sacked / this now gives his club the ability to sack him and potentially avoid losing the 40m that it invested in him / how much of a disgrace this is because he has let his team mates down.

It is a lack of respect on the players behalf to his coach, to his team mates, to his club and to the supporters of that club.

OK - I can see that - but  for me - that horse bolted a long time ago - and the fact that there is now so much uproar - for disrespect to the team - merely further highlights where sport has gone wrong so much in recent times.

Everyone has made it ‘all about the team’ - to such an extent that - 

• Carlos Tevez will be picked up by another team (if Man City successfully move him on) - and lauded as a great asset to his new “team”.  He will kiss the badge, he will be shown to be a symbol of management’s ambition and everyone will be happy (at the new team) - for a few minutes/days.
• Players can be sacked for inappropriate behavior by one club and then picked up by another team and the slate is effectively clean.  His actions impacted on the past team - not on ours.

 Showing disrespect to your team is merely the last thing you can show disrespect to (probably because your team mates are the closest to you and the last to allow you to act badly).  By the time you have shown disrespect to your team - you have probably done similar to your club (the wider body that the team is supposed to play for), to your supporters - the passion that flows through the club, or to your local community - from where your supporters will generally come.

The lack of respect in sport is out of control - with soccer as the global game, most visible - and for me it’s almost disrespectful that there is now such a furore about Carlos’ actions - because it is against the “team”.....  What about the rest of us who have had to put up with it.  A recent online expose lays bare what we already suspected in soccer’s murky waters, whilst the college football system in USA is going through a turbulent time as college administrators fight tooth and nail to be the most “murky” in their dealings.

Sportsman the world over haggle over % of income (NFL, NBA, AFL, La Liga, Serie A) that they deserve to be paid - whilst the rest of the world cling on to their savings, their jobs, their families.  Administrators act as though they are above the law, and - worse still - above acting in a decent manner - with rumors of bungs, bribes, and pay-offs for the biggest sporting events of all.

Yes there is a lot of money in sport, yes it may be naive to think that we should all remember the joy and the “teamship” that come from enjoying sport before we get consumed by the huge salaries and endorsements available.  And yes, there are plenty of great individuals, and some sports that still act in a hugely respectful fashion - with plenty doing lots for their club, for their team, for their community.

But there needs to be more.  Sport should be about delivering a positive message to the world, about showing how teamship can be positive, about how working hard can bring joy, about working for others (your team, your community) should be more important that working for yourself.  In the 21st Century - we face lots of problems ahead - and without respect for each other those problems are going to get bigger and bigger.

Every person involved in sport has a duty to respect the sport (and all the components parts highlighted).  The last 20 years has seen ‘respect’ slowly slip away from the sporting arena - so unless lots of us decide to stand up and bring it back - as Carlos shows, that horse will have bolted. 


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