Ball tampering incidents from Cape Town test between South Africa and Australia brought back long forgotten and discomforting memories of 2001. Though consequences in both the incidents were vastly different - there are underlying commonalities that tie these two events.
These common threads are important to understand how we succumb to human frailties and cross a boundary of propriety to suit our own prejudices. How we are swift to transfer a truckload of dormant guilt of our own many little misdeeds to those who are a little more vulnerable than us to such accusations.
When Sachin was accused of tampering with a cricket ball during a test match in South Africa, I was a teenager and like many other teenagers there was nothing that could have made me believe that there may be some merit to those allegations against him. Far from a possibility of any debate, I was closed to any information which may oppose my long held adulation and love for the living legend. I was not the only one to be closed to hearing the other side of the argument - it turns out entire country was in the same position. Such an unparalleled love and respect we have for our icons. There is absolutely nothing wrong in this kind of love and respect to our heroes. However this makes our heroes victims of our love. We start looking at them more as gods and forget that they are humans too. Sentiments of a teenager who used to bunk classes by lying about stomach ache were used to determine whether or not a particular sportsman erred in his conduct during a cricket match or not. This seemed perfectly fine back in 2001 to me as it suited my prejudice however looking back at it now, it seems ludicrous!
Steve Smith and David Warner found themselves on the wrong side of such sentiments last week. Though their acknowledgement of error was valorous and worthy of praise, it did not go down well with the public opinion in Australia, a country which idolises its Cricketers. People from Australia and around the world were quick to latch onto the confession as a tool to offload their own guilt to him. Australian culture idolises their cricketers and place them even higher than the national leaders in the hierarchy of public figures. It is said that Australia had a cricket captain before it had a prime minister! It is no surprise therefore that people feel betrayed when their heroes fall. However justified the public anger may be, it cannot be and should not be used as a tool to pass judgement on persons accused.
Ball tampering (planned or accidental) in cricket is no different from exaggerating one’s qualities on a resume to land a coveted job. It is no different from flattering a boss or someone in position of power to gain an advantage or curry favours. It is no different from lying about stomach ache in order to avoid school.
One has to agree that sports heroes have some responsibilities to their fans and followers and need to be held accountable for their actions when they overstep a boundary set by rules however to use the intensity of public emotions to determine the degree of their misconduct is grossly unjust towards the sportspersons involved.
We must support cricketers to receive a trial that is free of public emotions and perceptions in order to determine the severity and sentence of their misconduct. This is not only important from their point of view but also for ours - as we would not have any place if the same standards were employed to judge our own daily actions!
Photo taken from google search
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