When Headlines Cross the Line: Sport, Grief and the Tests of Character
Why do we play sport or watch it? Why do we cover it? Is it always about wins and losses, or runs scored and wickets taken? Is it just brick and mortar? Is sport only about statistics and nothing more?
For me, sport is always about character. About the human traits that define us all. At the end of the day, sport builds character and defines who we are. Much more important than a win or a loss, the enduring legacy of sport will always be what it does to human beings.
Rinku Singh is a glaring example of what sport is all about. Much like Sachin Tendulkar or Mohammed Siraj before him, Rinku joined the team within 24 hours of his father’s demise in an exemplary show of character. I lost my father when I was 24. I know how crushing it can be, for there is nothing that can make up for the irreparable loss. It makes you numb and it is almost impossible to overcome such situations. In Rinku’s case, he did – and joined his team, for that is where he belongs and what his father would have wanted him to do. It was an act that enriched the sport and the World Cup.
That brings me to what I would label a shocker. In the mixed zone after India had defeated West Indies, a senior journalist asked Sitanshu Kotak whether Rinku’s father’s demise was actually a blessing in disguise. My colleague Subhayan Chakraborty reported this to me, and said Kotak did not know what to say.
We could very easily name the journalist here. But the idea is not to go after him, for we know how social media gives poison a platform. His family would soon be in the line of fire, abused and trolled. That is what we need to guard against. At the same time, such inhuman comments – and yes, it was inhuman, not merely stupid – disgrace the profession and make us all look small. It is essential that no one ever crosses the line, for that is what sport teaches us.
You do not need a headline if it comes at this cost. You do not need to be witty or clever when you are not. You are being foolish, saying things that are insensitive and ridiculous. That is where we need to be far more responsible and conscious. The pen gives us leverage, and not everything should be allowed to pass.
Many asked me why we should not name the person in question. The answer is that he too has a family, and it is our collective duty to ensure they are protected from vitriol. One mistake cannot lead to another. At the same time, a line must be drawn. No one crosses that Lakshman rekha for a headline, and everyone in the profession needs to remember it. It is human to make mistakes, and I would like to think this was one of the worst statements of his life – one that it will never be repeated. That is what we need to guard against and stand up to.
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