The summer of sport 2009 may not have held a major sporting event such the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games or the football World Cup but It may go down in history as the most controversial sporting season ever.
Yes, England won the Ashes again, but was this the most talked about issue in World Sport? The answer is a simple no, sport has always lived on its controversial nature but over the past months it has been a focal point in the media like never before.
The paparazzi did not have to go out and find the controversy, such as the secret Sheikh scandal against Sven Goran Erikkson by the News of the World. Debate’s were rife in every sport, accusations were hurled at professionals within their own sporting field. The media must have felt Christmas had come early, and on every week that followed.
The point to this article is to question whether sport needs the controversy to exist. Whether the media have prolonged the life of sport, which in itself is only a few hundred years in existence. The problems ally with whether it is the media that create the scandals, or whether the nature of sport does that itself and the media just develop them.
Would the IAAF have challenged Caster Semenya’s gender if it had not bubbled up within the press organisation? Questions may have been asked within the governing body but would any of the members been daring enough to challenge her without the stur caused by the media.
The Media Make Sport Money But It's Influence Is Damaging Competition
The World Championship athletics is an intriguing argument to the question posed. On one hand you have Usain Bolt, dominating modern day sprinting like no other, drawing in full crowds to see World Records smashed, however what was the major talking point after the games. Was it Bolt or Semenya?
The continuation of this debate, caused claims from Leonard Chuene, the South African Athletics president that the IAAF treatment was ‘racism pure and simple’. All the information dribbled out into the press, immense pressure was placed onto an 18 year old athlete just hours before their biggest ever personal sporting achievement. The emotional stress, could and possibly has in the past end promising sportsmen and women’s career, such as ‘pineapple head’ footballer Jason Lee.
It is not just in Athletics that controversy was sprawled over every newspaper and television screen over the summer. Diving in football, whether it is cheating or purely gamesmanship has been a part of the modern game for some years. However Eduardo hit the headlines in a way never seen previously.
His alleged dive in the Arsenal vs Celtic champions’ league qualifier, which concreted a successful passage into the group stages for Arsenal, caused catastrophic circumstances for UEFA. The media jumped on the bandwagon, branding that he ‘showed no respect to football’ and UEFA top officials calling him a ‘cheat’.
'Eduardo dive was disrespectful'
In a similar way to the Athletics there are questions about whether his two match ban which was handed out and then rescinded was down to the pressure from within the media. It was clear UEFA were unhappy with the original suspension, as it went against official guidelines and undermined the referee. However it was still acted upon, due to the presence of the media.
The press castigated Eduardo, but is it there right to. It is understandable why it is done; their aim is to sell as many papers as they can. Although should this be at such a level to pin down a governing body into creating a judgement that even though correct could damage the well being of the sport.
Other controversy’s that came to particular prominence over the summer included the Bloodgate scandal in Rugby Union, with a quite remarkable admission by Harlequin’s former coach Dean Richards that he had sent instructions on more than one occasion for one of his players to feign an injury so that his team would have a better chance of winning.
Another saw the extremely controversial polyurethane swimsuits made illegal by FINA the governing body. This was a clear indication that sport should be pure to athletes and not the technology that they are using.
Also an argument that sport’s controversy is not created in the media but just simply broadcast to the wider world. This controversy has helped put Swimming back on the sporting map. It is clearly a huge hit at the Olympic Games, with Phelps completing a historic 8 gold medals in Beijing. However it is not discussed much inside the four year period that lies between.
Smaller sports rely on controversy to promote themselves above the major sports that are focused on in the press, whether its Tennis rants such as the Serena scream at the US Open, Snookers’ s match fixing between Jamie Burnett and Stephen Maquire or even Michael Whittaker being banned for 4 months due to his horse failing a drugs test.
In general it is in these sports that controversy is created by the sport, and then pronounced in the press. Whereas the press has much more of a hold over governing bodies in the larger Worldwide sports such as Football, Athletics and the controversy prone Formula One World Championships. In these sports the press are able to create the controversy much more and with it create a debate between the most high profile of sporting figures, often adding emphasis to their argument.
Over the last decade the press has seen a huge amount of influence come their way in all aspects of life, whether political or sport. The rise of the internet has only surged their combined power and can overhaul all sorts of governing bodies and club bosses. With the Media able to create the debate as well as carry it there is a distinct possibility f a damaging impact on the agencies set up to oversee the running of events and more importantly the longevity of sport in competition.
