Indian Newslink 15th April 2018 Digital Edition

APRIL 15, 2018
32 Sportslink
Cheating and Corruption mar the world of sports
But New Zealand can remain as good as it is perceived
Suzanne Snively
The movie, ‘The Armstrong Lie,’
should have better prepared
me for the Australia Cricket
Scandal. Lance Armstrong’s
cheating behaviour was so disturbing
that I kept shaking myself during the
film, hoping to wake up and find that it
was a nightmare.
Here was a man so determined to
win that he followed the innovative,
interventionist and illegal prescription
of his Italian specialist doctor for
years.
Cheating rationalised
Armstrong’s performance as a cyclist
kept improving while the prescription
allowed him to routinely pass the drug
tests required at the time.
He became an international leader
and role model.
While Armstrong was not the only
one cheating, he was in a league of his
own when it came to rationalising his
reasons, lying, and coming out as the
leader of the pack – winning race after
race.
Movies on Corruption and Fraud
Last month’s Fraud Film Festival
held at Auckland’s ASB Theatre featured
a number of the growing genre
of movies focused on bribery and
corruption, including ‘The Armstrong
Lie.’ After the screening, former New
Zealand ‎cyclist and Armstrong’s
teammate, Stephen Swart led an excellent
discussion.
Swart had bravely called out
Armstrong in the early 1990s but it
was not until over 20 years later that
the latter finally confessed to the allegations.
Armstrong had won year after
year over that period – even staging a
comeback as a cancer survivor.
In Swart’s view, it’s too late to fully
restore integrity in sports. He believes
that winning at all costs drives sports
people to seek out clinical experts and
pharmaceutical solutions that defy
testing. There is a of fallacy of being a
victim if they do not win.
Clinical Sophistication
Clinical sophistication was not required
for Australian Bowler Cameron
Bancroft to cheat at cricket by tampering
the ball with a small strip of
sandpaper.
When captured on camera attempting
to hide the evidence down his trousers,
he first claimed it was sticky tape.
This cheating went straight to the
top with the Australian Cricket Captain
and his Deputy admitting to being involved
in this premeditated act.
The damage to Australia’s reputation
was immediate and immense.
Commentators called Australia “the
country whose early settlers were
convicts from England, a country of
cheats.”
Australian PM acts
Although it took some days for the
Australian Cricket establishment to
recognise the wider implications of
the ball tampering, to his credit, the
Australian Prime Minister quickly
acknowledged the gravity of the
situation.
Only time will tell the extent of the
reputational damage.
The damage that sports cheats cause
is powerful motivation to support
those agencies, such as World Anti-
Doping Agency (WADA) and Drug Free
Sport NZ, that are dedicated for sport
to be corruption free.
Sporting integrity expert Declan Hill
said, that the proceeds from sports illegal
match-fixing is conservatively estimated
to be US$1.5 trillion.
Sports match-fixing relies on dishonest
athletes like Armstrong and naive
players like Bancroft to forget that
leadership is about doing the right
thing always.
New Zealand’s status
The strengthening of the Police
Financial Intelligence Unit and the
work of Sport NZ, provides the framework
so that New Zealand can remain
as good as it is perceived.
Both organisations become enabled
to call out what is unacceptable activity
and then ensure that there are sanctions
exercised once such behaviour is
detected.
In the end, though, it is up to all of
us to recognise that it is individual behaviour
that makes up the whole, and
the courage of New Zealanders like
Stephen Swart that sets us apart.
Suzanne Snively is Chair of
Transparency International New
Zealand Inc based in Wellington.
It wasn’t exactly Boult
from the blue for England
The Black Caps were par excellence this Season
Apurv Shukla
As the New Zealand
and England
Cricket teams
played out a
thrilling draw in the final
home test of the summer
at Christchurch, it gave the
Black Caps their first series
win over England in 19
years.
It was also the first series
win for New Zealand over
England at home after 34
years.
Man of the Series
Trent Boult was declared
‘Man of the Match’ and
series for his 20 wickets
over the two tests. His outstanding
summer of Cricket
also won him the biggest
prize at New Zealand
Cricket Awards- Sir Richard
Hadlee Medal for the Player
of the Year alongside the
Test International Player of
the Year.
The Northern Districts
left-arm bowler took 77
wickets across all formats
in this season.
Ross Taylor notched up
his 19th ODI century in this
home summer, and in the
process also won the Men’s
ODI Player of the Year at
these awards.
Taylor’s form is intrinsic
to New Zealand’s chances
at next year’s Cricket World
Cup in England.
Other Achievers
Auckland’s Colin Munro
won the best T20 international
player, after a season
where he averaged more
than 50 in the shortest
version of the game.
The left hander has given
up red ball cricket, and now
heads to India for the IPL.
Wellington’s Sophie
Devine won the Women’s
ODI Player of the Year at
the Awards.
She is a gifted athlete
who has also represented
New Zealand in hockey.
Mumbai born left-arm
spinner Ajaz Patel won the
Domestic Player of the Year.
The Central Districts
player has been the top
Wicket-taker in domestic
Cfor the past three seasons.
Black Caps will restart
their international
season in October with
an Away-Series against
Pakistan.
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