Cheating in sports

Julius Baer Generation Cup — Magnus Carlsen, the world champion resigned after just one move against Hans Niemann. This was Carlsen’s way of pointing out that Niemann had used unfair methods(cheated) to rise so quickly in the chess world. Niemann had in fact admitted to using computers during tournaments in violation of rules in his earlier years, but he had reformed.

Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal in the Seoul Olympics after testing positive for banned substances. Marion Jones, Yohan Blake and many more track and field athletes had failed drug tests and had been stripped of medals/handed out suspensions. Lance Armstrong, the seven times Tour-de-France cycling champion was stripped of all his titles after he admitted to long-term usage of performance enhancing drugs. One will never know if Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ claim in a controversial goal was true or not but, in his career, he had faced a 15-month suspension for use of drugs. Joe Canesco, a baseball player while admitting to using drugs also mentioned in his book, “Juiced’ about many fellow baseballers who were into steroids for performance enhancement. In cricket too, cheating has been around in the form of ball-tampering, applying substances not allowed, on the ball, etc. One recalls John Lever, Steve Smith, David Warner and of course a large number of Pakistani cricketers who perfected the art of reverse-swing.

The question which springs to mind is — Why do sportspersons cheat? Given the huge sums of money in professional sports these days, be it prize money or sponsorships, do they develop a ‘must win’ at any cost attitude. It is true that successful sportspersons earn tons of money but is that the sole driver which makes some or many of them cheat? Possibly not. Name and fame? To a large extent, yes, when winning becomes an addiction and you are afraid to lose. The term ‘sporting spirit’ has long lost its meaning and it is human needs and behavior at work.

Let us step back in time — Many of us would have played informal cricket in the backyard without proper equipment, umpire or even a full playing XI. No prize money, name or fame……… yet when the fielding side felt you were out leg-before-wicket, as a batsman, you always protested. There would be a squabble and possibly if the bat belonged to you, you would just walk away. Match abandoned. Next day, all will be forgotten, and another impromptu game would start. Point is, cheating is an inherent streak in humans, in some cases, the ‘cheat chromosomes’ being dominant. Take the case of the popular online word game WORDLE, where you have to guess the five-letter word of the day (that is pre-decided by the creator) in five attempts. Addictive game, no prize money, nothing but an exercise for the grey cells and an average person, once he gets the hang of it, should finish in three/ four tries. There are sites which have cropped up as ancillaries to Wordle, that provide clues and also the right answer, minutes after the WORDLE for the day goes online. Why? People post on social media that they solved the Wordle in a single attempt or two attempts inviting laurels from the readers. Is this about retaining the name and fame you have earned in whatever walk of life you are in? No. It boils down to psychological needs of human beings. Maslow provides the answers.

It is the feeling of accomplishment or esteem needs which humans crave for. Remember, this is one step below the self-actualization need where one tries to achieve his/her full potential. The move from Esteem needs to Self-actualization needs is possibly the toughest transition to make and if one indulges in satisfying the psychological needs by hook or crook, self-actualization would remain a pipedream. Life for a professional sportsperson can become extremely lonely at the top — Training, training, training, endorsements, travel, very little time for family life and the FEAR of failure sets in gradually. What if I am beaten tomorrow? No, I should not be beaten, come what may. Let me close the rulebook for a while and try to enhance my performance. Possibly, the mind becomes numb with fear and the steep fall, once you are found out, is totally forgotten.

The thought for this post suddenly cropped up the day before just as I started my daily dose of Wordle. So, the first word I guessed was CHEAT. Wordle showed that ‘C’ was there but in the wrong place but none of the other letters were there in the word of the day. Hmm, I have to scour more, I thought and typed SCOUR. Hurrah, S,C,and O were in the right place and R was present but in the wrong place. Now, it became obvious, the word was SCORN. Strangely enough, the feeling I have for cheats.