Honesty

There is a concept I shall call keeping your word. Making a commitment to someone and keeping it, come what may. This doesn’t seem to apply in many aspects of our lives and this dishonesty is becoming progressively more acceptable to society.

One glaring example is in football. Soccer stars, like other sports super stars, sign contracts that tie them to a club for an agreed period of time, usually about five years, in return for which they receive a great deal of money. This is no longer the case. Now, if a player does well, or another club comes sniffing after their services, their agent will seek increased terms or they will make noise until they force a rupture with their original club. Imagine if the situation were reversed, and the player had a bad spell, and the club tried to get rid of them or reduce their terms. There would be righteous indignation.

Agents and players take ruthless advantage of this situation. It used to be the case that the clubs exploited the players, who had little or no power. Now the situation is reversed, and it is just as dishonest when the players and their representatives behave appallingly. Why sign a contract you have no obligation or wish to maintain? What makes this situation even more unappealing is the cod loyalty players publicly express when they literally bang their fists on their hearts where their club insignia is to be found on their shirts when they do something positive in a match. They do this to demonstrate to their fellow players, the fans and their TV viewers, that they adore their club. What dishonesty, the only thing they want to be a part of is that club’s money.

What makes this situation even sadder is that no one seems to be surprised by this lack of morality. Kids growing up, who love their clubs, learn to live with this lack of scruples. What are the implications for their behavior when they grow up if these examples are seen as the norm?