Stop investing in sports!

Has sports become linked to money these days? The answer is yes. Over the past 30 years or so, it has been observed that with the tendency of commercialising various sports at every level, the lust for money by the sportsmen, their sponsors and organising institutions has increased immensely.

However, a relevant question arises here. Though there is a lot of money involved in professional sports, is it really the fault of the players, leagues, sponsors or the franchises alone? Not really. The fault lies in the wisdom, perception and discretion of fans, too, who continue to spend so much of their hard earned savings on sports and its entertainment, irrespective of the fact that this is money that they could very wisely and safely spend on other more important things.

The fact of the matter is that if fans were unwilling to pay high prices for tickets on these cricket matches and other games, then sport stars and their managers wouldn’t be soaring high with money. By doing so, we are giving rise to corruption, unfair means and other irregularities in this noble venture.

Let us think dispassionately for a while. Why should so much money be passed on to these professional players and their sponsors when there are a lot more important problems prevailing in our societies that need immediate attention and care? These players and their mentors have already had enough of money, name and fame and, perhaps, can contain themselves from longing for more. If that was the case, public money could be donated to the lesser fortunate people, such as those who have lost their homes and refugees, or invest money in research to help find a cure to cancer and other fatal diseases that are challenging humanity at the moment.

— The reader is an Indian professor based in Rajasthan, India