The Roar
The Roar

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The death of the sporting character would be the death of sport

Roar Rookie
21st November, 2016
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Conor McGregor is a true larrikin and character in an age of boring sportsmen. (Andrius Petrucenia/ Flickr)
Roar Rookie
21st November, 2016
0

Donald Trump. He’s brash, unforgiving, misogynistic and completely insane. Yet he surprised everyone with a storming victory in the US Presidential election.

This gave me pause to think how and why this could be possible and how parallels can be drawn into larger society.

Thoughts invariably for your humble author turned to how this relates to the sporting world and what has happened with increased professionalism in the last few decades within the sporting landscape.

Looking across the board at the majority of sporting organisations the main element that is the constant in every league is the interest on who is on the pitch at any given time.

None of us show up for the referees, administrators nor the sponsors who adorn the clothing and billboards (although with increased levels of sports gambling in society this may not be so true).

With increased professionalism and money filtering through the machine of trotting out media managed stars into a cliche-ridden robot that eats away at this core enjoyment. This turns players into a pawn of corporate structure so keen to prove whose brand has a family value associated in some capacity.

The brashness of a highly skilled athlete like Connor McGregor has taken the world by storm. He pulled in 25 per cent of the UFC’s pay per view revenue in the last year, not to mention the palpable anticipation of one of his press conferences.

This is what the punters want to see. Great characters not bound by corporate sensibilities or cookie cutter media managed interviews. A quick glance to the Big Bash last year and the infamous boundary line interview with Chris Gayle and the ensuing backlash and comment speaks largely to what the media and pundits alike want.

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The Big Bash toed the sponsor and network line. A few ‘social’ commentators gave us their two bob’s worth and social media lit up with differing opinions.

Would this have garnered any type of reaction had it been a dull and dreary press conference regarding run rates or being proud of the team’s performance?

The key here is that sportsmen and women are entertainers first and foremost. If occasionally they do not fit a chosen narrative or goes out of line, I think we as a society are clever enough to work out on our own what we see as offensive and what we don’t.

The endless barrage of pundits crying foul when someone is found drunk or in a compromised situation is often the very reason these people are employed in the first place. Gutter journalism is the new norm and is often much more insidious than said indiscretion.

We are a voyeuristic society by nature that love some controversy. In the professional era we have allowed outside interests moral police and dictate to us what we see as entertainment appropriate and this is in turn watering down the product which people have become fed up with.

A recent interview with a leading NFL player on the importance of maintaining a certain moral compass within the league made a very telling point. Budweiser was quick to lament the lack of ‘family values’ within the NFL’s handling of the Ray Rice domestic assault allegations. Surely looking purely at a societal response would having them as a sponsor to begin with contribute to this issue?

The hypocrisy is beginning to eat itself whole and are we on the verge of a new era?

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