Dalton Myers | Politics and sports don’t mix, or do they?

There is always this argument by purists that sports and politics must not mix. In fact, there are some who will tell you that there is no politics in their sporting organisation, or that there will never be politics in sports. Just recently, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that it will not accept any form of protest at this year’s Olympics as there should be no politics in sports.

Retired political science lecturer at The University of the West Indies, Dr Christine Cummings had designed and taught the course ‘Sport, Politics and Society’. One of the reasons that course is so relevant is its applicability to modern sports both locally and otherwise. Politics in sports is evident in many ways, and through various media in our society, primarily because sports and politics have a lot to do with power. So whomever leads a sporting organisation, or a political party holds a certain level of power, and for some, that power, however limited it is, is important. That power allows leaders in sports to make, or appear to make certain important decisions: who is selected to represent the country or organisation, who gets to access finances and other resources, and when and how it happens.

It is within this context that governments and political parties use this kind of power and influence to be involved, and in some cases manipulate the governance of sports. In small states like ours, sport associations depend heavily on funding from Government through subvention and sponsorship to survive. So while world governing bodies stipulate that there should be no Government ­influence in sports, that is often not necessarily the case as political parties find unique, subtle and unconventional ways to do so, including supporting surrogates who are candidates in elections of officers for sporting association. This is done through financial support or withholding support from rival candidates. That way they are better able to have those persons align the sporting bodies’ objectives to that political party or Government. In the region, some of these sporting elections can be very brutal and we on the outside wonder what is at stake. At stake, is power, and sometimes it is political power, overseas trips, funding, et cetera.

In small states like ours, there are other direct links that are not necessarily good or bad, including the use of sports by politicians in communities. We have seen members of parliament and other political representatives being chairmen or presidents for sports clubs locally. In other instances, politicians will establish a sport competition, bearing their names. This has now become the norm in Jamaica for political representatives and hopefuls, and is expected by communities that the MP become the “sponsor” of the ­community league.

TENSE DISCOURSE

Additionally, being president of a sporting association gives you a voting right in other bodies. For example, if you are a member association of a National Olympic Committee, for instance, you have a vote at their annual general meeting. The same can apply at the regional and international levels. Candidates vying for power will need your support when their election comes around. This further explains why there is sometimes tense discourse in the media for even a seemingly insignificant position.

Athletes play a role in this discussion too, as not just competitors on the field of play, but sometimes pawns in this chess game. Sport is really about playing on the field, but invariably athletes are affected and influence things off the field of play or ‘beyond the boundary’. This is not new. From the Caribbean’s fight to get a black West Indies cricket captain in Frank Worrell, to using sports as a pillar in the fight for self-government in the region, to, raising a fist as a black power salute; athletes have been heavily involved in this politicking of. Sometimes athletes ­themselves have their own political ­leaning and use sport to effect changes along those lines. Some athletes later hang up their spikes, bat, gloves, et cetera to enter political representation.

The argument for keeping politics out of sports has always sounded good. However, in the grand scheme of things, this is not always the case for Jamaica or globally. I do agree that you do not want a government dictating what happens in sports, as that can destroy any sporting organisation. However, such autonomy comes with responsibility; and sometimes abuse of power causes corruption in sports, another thing both sports and politics have in common.

Dalton Myers is a sports consultant and host of The Drive Phase Podcast. Send feedback to daltonsmyers@gmail.com or tweet @daltonsmyers