Winning at all costs
View(s):Though football is not as popular as cricket in Sri Lanka, many people have been watching the ongoing FIFA World Cup matches on television.
World Cup fever seems to have even “infected” our very own Kussi Amma Sera, who a couple of days ago appeared shocked when she was briefly watching a match (along with us) saying:
“Mahattaya … ara balanna … boruwata wetuna, neda. (See, see … that man has fallen pretending that he is injured)?”
She was referring to a player taking a fall and grimacing in pain after what appeared to be a clean tackle from an opponent. It was obvious to everyone that it was a fake injury and even Kussi Amma Sera with little or no knowledge of the game was able to see through the deceit.
These “fake” or feigning injuries came to the fore at another interesting discussion by the Sunday Times Business Club (STBC) in Colombo on Tuesday on the topic: ‘Crisis in Sports: Internal or external?’
The discussion by four eminent panellists examined the issues confronting sports in Sri Lanka today and came on the heels of the issues affecting administration in cricket and the recent ugly crowd scenes at rugger matches.
It was Jetwing Hotels Chairman Hiran Cooray who referred to “fake” falls.
“Look at the World Cup football matches. See how players fake injuries to get penalties, etc. This is some form of cheating. Even the referees are confused. Such players should be chased off the field. This is also happening in cricket. Players and coaches make a lot of money – the job of coaches is apparently to make sure they win at whatever cost. Performance is measured by winning … not how you played the game,” he said.
Winning at all costs and/or winning by hook or by crook was the thread of consensus by all the panellists — Aravinda De Silva, former Sri Lanka cricket captain and administrator; Dian Gomes, Chairman, Hela Clothing and well-known boxing coach and administrator; and Kushil Gunasekera, Chairman, Foundation of Goodness and a former cricket administrator.
Across their presentations, two points were clear. That while there is a lot of talent in Sri Lanka, not only in sports but also in the corporate sector, the opportunity is missing and politicisation, favouritism and cheating have taken over from values, honesty, dedication and playing the game irrespective of who wins or loses.
This malady has affected Sri Lankans across the spectrum and mostly in the political arena where it’s Hobson’s choice even for “honest” politicians.
Here are a few takeaways from the presentations of the four panellists:
Hiran Cooray (who also played cricket in college):
“I don’t know whether the crisis is in sport or business today. We played in an era where we were taught to play the game, not win at all costs.
“But winning at all costs is happening in the private sector also today. How do we measure our performance? By the profits we make. By hook or by crook if you are a corporate executive or a senior manager you have to make money. Success is measured by the amount of profit.
“Similarly in sports, whether it is cricket or rugger, football or boxing or any other sport, your performance is measured, by winning (not how you played the game).
“In the corporate sector we need to show the way that money is not the only criteria for a successful organisation.”
Aravinda de Silva, former Sri Lanka cricket captain and now in business:
“We need to teach values at the grassroot levels to young kids. What cricket taught me on the field is far more than what I learnt in a classroom.
“The Government needs to have a vision and a mission to develop sports.
“Kids get into drugs, violence, etc mainly because after their Ordinary Levels they feel there is no future if they fail. You need to build a career through sports, that’s what the Government should encourage.
“We have talent but no opportunity. If we keep doing this, we won’t find good talent coming into the system.”
Dian Gomes, Chairman of Hela Clothing and boxing promoter:
“All emphasis should be to build character from the grassroots level.
“Meritocracy, which is missing today in every sphere of activity, is the way forward. There is a lot of interference from the beginning of one’s career.
“In schools, there is no talent pipeline except in cricket. If you play cricket at least you can get a job … not any other sport.
“Are we inculcating a value system in schools? There should be zero tolerance to cheating and winning at whatever cost.
“This also boils down to our value system, from the schools to the singing of the national anthem. Are we disciplined, are we patriotic?”
Kushil Gunasekera, Chairman, Foundation of Goodness and a former cricket administrator:
“Every sport is politicised. We need to inculcate good values at the grassroots level. But unless that comes from the top, the President downwards, this is not going to work.
“At Sri Lanka Cricket, people are buying votes to come to power. In such an instance you cannot govern a system with standards or discipline.
“Interim committees don’t work. They are brought in to clear the mess and then the next elected body creates another mess.
“There is a lot of talent in rural villages but we don’t do justice to youngsters since the opportunity is missing.
“Even if you have good values at grassroots levels, it won’t work if the top doesn’t inculcate good values.”
These thoughts resonate across sectors like politics, sports, business, governance, accountability and the public service among others.
The public service itself is full of cheats and recently a respected, junior minister said he was shocked to find that some officials were earning (by holding different positions) between Rs. 1 million and Rs. 8 million a month.
Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe was recently quoted in the media as saying that several public officials would be in jail if they were dealt with and sentenced similar to the case of former presidential secretary Lalith Weeratunga for abusing state funds.
“Mr. Weeratunga was sentenced to prison for misusing public funds and if the other state officials are dealt with in a similar manner, half of them should serve jail terms because most of them spent funds without the approval of their superiors,” he was reported to have said at a public workshop.
Mr. Wijesinghe said trillions of rupees had been wasted by various government institutions, while a huge amount of funds was wasted in the health sector for importing outdated equipment and money allocated for school buildings without making proper assessments.
Mr. Wijesinghe was quoted as saying the bond scam was not the only financial crime in the country because there were many more including the coal power purchasing deal and the rice import scam which had taken place under the previous and the current government.
Governance, transparency and accountability have become buzzwords today merely on paper in both the public and private sectors. That applies to society too and as one of the panellists said, if good values are not inculcated from the top of society (parliamentarians and politicians), then the future in carving out a “caring and honest Sri Lanka” is indeed bleak.