Should cricketers be penalized for their off-the-field bad behavior?

Yes

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by Mark Waybill

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Cricketers, like all sports people, are respected and idolized by their supporters. As such they have influence over their supporters, and if they do something wrong and do not get punished, this creates a negative influence, and thus I will argue that yes they should be punished.

However I do not think that this punishment should affect the game itself. Putting aside areas within the game such as violent or antisocial on the field behavior and the usage of steroids et cetera, most bad behavior is not involved with the sport itself and is off the field, in pubs and clubs and such places. As such I do not think their punishment should affect the sport itself or even their position in it.

I am an advocate rather of a system of non game related punishment such as fines, jail time and community service, which would be given to an ordinary criminal. When you ban a player for life or suspend them it affects the sport, and also brings outside elements within the game. Sport is about friendly competition and it seems unsporting to allow outside events to affect it to a large degree.

Thus you may guess I am not an advocate of diplomatic policies that affect the game, such as not playing in a country for political reasons. And I also do not think that players who act badly off the field should be punished on the field, as the two realms should in my opinion be separated. But certainly they should, like any criminal, be punished for crime.

Sports players, especially the higher paid and more well known ones, are no different to celebrities or a common mugger in how they should be treated if they commit a crime. Whoever commits the act it remains criminal and thus needs to be punished, however famous or useful to a team that individual may be.

To not punish these individuals will only continue this negative influence on team and player supporters, which can hardly be looked at in a positive light. Sport is not about violence, rape or alcoholism. Sport is about sportsmanship and friendly competition, and as such off the field bad behavior is a blight to the game.

Whilst I have seen some media coverage of this sort of bad behavior by players and teams I am not aware of the exact levels to which players are punished in all cases, but usually one hears of them receiving a suspension or a fine or some trifling punishment, which can hardly affect them to much of an extent.

Unless these players are corrected this sort of behavior and influence will only lead to more alcoholism, violence and other related criminal activity, and degenerate the sports image in the public eye.

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