Monday 14 May 2012

Thug Idol

Are we really all that bothered by acts of violence in sports? Boxers David Haye and Derek Chisora ended up brawling at press conference and after the initial faux outrage in the headlines from newspapers and calls for lifetime bans, everything calmed down to the extent that this pair are now due to meet in a big figh night at Upton Park which will earn each of them nice paydays. And yesterday footballer Joey Barton saw red (again) and even after being handed a red card went on to try and headbutt and kick other players. Yet again there was the initial calls for Barton's head and banishment from football but this morning reports say he could only be facing a nine match ban. Like I said, faux outrage.
Whatever happened to sportsmanship and respect for the opposition? We are not that sincere when we say we would like to see it in our sporting events because we allow the thugs to continue to thrive and to hell with any decency. The commentators and journalists who condemn thuggery in one breath but say the player should carry on playing in another are simply pillars of bullshit and ought to be ignored like the idiots they support.

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Handbags at dawn

Now im not for one minute saying players shouldn't be passionate about winning and obviously there are going to be times when aggression spills over in the heat of the moment but there must be a limit or else anarchy will reign which will cost the wholesome image of sport very dearly indeed. Do you doubt me? Well more fool you because I already believe that football is a game played only by brainless thugs who wouldn't know respect if it butted them in the face, and im not the only one so yes, by allowing players to get away with causing scenes like the one I witnessed yesterday by Barton it is indeed damaging. Is that really fair on those few who do play fairly and keep their anger in check? I don't want to dump players like David Beckham, who seems like a decent family man into the same Gucci labelled basket as oafs like Joey Barton and Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne but I can't help it. Football for me is a game played largely by pondlife and uneducated bozos, sorry Becks.
But of course it isn't only football which is guilty of 'yobbery' and I apologise for almost making it seem so. There are men (interestingly not so much women) in every sporting field who have crossed the line from being 'colourful' to downright hooligan. I dont have a problem with colourful sportsmen (think the late Brian Clough), they are much needed and sport would be infinately less without them. What sport doesn't need are people like the ones I mention in the first paragraph of this post and the sooner sporting authorities or officials realise this and ban them for LIFE the better. Believe me, football and boxing would be the richer from ditching violent thugs. Children have enough rotten role models with 'gangsta' rappers and idiot television programmes, without showing them that disgraceful behaviour can pay in sport.