Sports should lift us up, not tear us down
Playing baseball in the sun on a spring day (or cricket, or soccer, or rugby), can be a truly lovely thing. And watching people play is wonderful too, sharing in the joy sports can bring to our lives. Whether it’s the Blue Jays, or little kids who are as likely to find a fly in the grass as they are to catch a fly ball, in those moments, we’re reminded of the great things about sports.
The joy of using our bodies and minds, the fun of playing with new and old friends, the reward that comes with learning and improving our skills. The mentoring from coaches who generously volunteer their time, the families on the sidelines making friends. These are just some of the ways that sports positively affect people and communities. Through sports, we can develop as athletes and human beings, with the confidence and wherewithal to participate in our communities and civic life.
As spectators, we are inspired by athletes who have devoted countless hours to become exemplars of what the human body and mind can do. Together with people of all different political stripes and walks of life, we cheer our favourite team on to a win.
But beneath this bright surface lies a dark underbelly. Consider the parents and coaches who push kids too hard, or the heaps of economic and social capital you need to even get the opportunity to play. (Anyone who has tried to get their child into city-run swimming lessons or classes at a popular gymnastics club can tell you that the registration process itself should qualify as a competitive sport.) Private sports clubs and coaching businesses take out permits for public parks and facilities. And while they must pay fees to do so, it also means that the public cannot use these spaces during these times. Even community organizations can levy fees that are a barrier for some families. Our sports and recreation systems do not work for everyone.
This goes all the way up. More than one national sports organization has very publicly, some scandalously, broken down in recent years. We entrust our children to these organizations that ought to be focused on helping young people grow as athletes and as people. At the absolute bare minimum, they ought to be protecting kids from harm.
Not all breakdowns come in the form of scandal, but they have something in common: too often, these organizations fail to make kids’ well-being their priority. Instead, an “Own the Podium” mentality that prioritizes winning over development and elite competition over grassroots play, and a preoccupation with operational considerations such as funding and insurance, have shifted the focus away from what should be their true purpose: to honour every child’s right to sport and to ensure that athletes of all ages, incomes, and skill levels can benefit from playing sports.
Spectator sports are being overtaken by another one of these dark elements: sports gambling. We are bombarded by it on commercial breaks, from the men in suits and sports legends who talk between play, even on the many surfaces they find to place company logos. Sports betting is everywhere. Professional sports leagues have embraced gambling, even adopting their own official sports betting partners, adding to the relentless barrage. It’s inescapable. And it’s despicable.
Gambling disorders are common. They can cause financial problems and mental health problems such as low self-esteem, stress, anxiety, and depression. It can become an addiction and, like substance use addictions, can harm individuals and families, push people into poverty, and ruin lives.
One of the worst parts about this is that we know that promoting gambling is particularly harmful for children and youth and for other vulnerable people, such as those who already struggle with addiction to betting.
Sports betting also demeans sport itself, and the athletes who have worked so hard to get to where they are. By breaking down a sport into random bits and bobs and monetizing it, sport loses its intrinsic value and meaning. It reduces athletes to trick ponies. The frequent and ubiquitous promotion of sports gambling threatens to glamourize this pathological behaviour.
Gambling on sports is legal in Ontario, and that is unlikely to change. That horse is already out of the barn. But we can put a fence around where and when that horse can run. We can try to protect people from being trampled.
The first thing the government should do is to ban or substantially restrict advertising of sports gambling. The restrictions should address the content, frequency, and channels of advertisements, with the aim of reducing the exposure of children, youth, and other vulnerable people. This could mean eliminating ads during games or from an hour prior to play. It could also mean prohibiting current players from appearing in ads. Many former athletes, children’s advocates, and mental health experts agree. In fact, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health recently called for a “whistle-to-whistle” ban on advertising sports gambling in its submission to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
Sports should lift us up, not tear us down. Our systems should support us in enjoying the many benefits of sport and protect us from harm. And when it comes to gambling, we need to take sports back from the companies that care only about reaping profits off the backs of vulnerable people.