13 Play the game 2002

By Karen Balling Radmer

We have all seen them – the images of toppoliticians decked out in expensive

sports gear. Just as we have heard politiciansspeak about the need for their country to winmore medals. Olympic success is, of course, agreat thing for any nation – the fact that it doesnothing practical to help society is deemedirrelevant.

Professor John Hoberman of Texas Univer-sity has taken a closer look at the reasons whypoliticians use sport to deliver political mes-sages and create feelings of national prideand success amongst citizens. He provides anumber of examples to Play the game.

Top athletes symbolise strong will, he says.Both the American and Russian presidents liketo be portrayed in sports gear on TV and in pi-ctures. This sends out signals about strength ofcharacter and good health.

He cites the example of Norway, where politi-cians have predicted that 'when we can beat thebig countries in the winter games, we will also beable to hold our own in the European Union',and Portugal, where politicians have announcedthat 400 million Euros is to be spent on the con-

struction of ten stadiums to host football's Euro2004 and other events. This despite the fact thatthe nation is currently unable to meet EU econo-mic targets, and is being forced to make majorcutbacks in its public services.

John Hoberman points to what he sees as alack of common sense amongst political leaders,many of whom appear unaware that sport has itslimitations. Australia, for example, was so eagerin its desire to see results that it came close to em-ploying a former East German child-doper,Ekkart Arbeit, as a coach. The reason the ideawas finally dropped was not his doping back-ground, but revelations that he had been a spyfor the East German secret police, the STASI.

According to John Hoberman politiciansand journalists are not doing enough to shiftthe focus to areas where sport can make a realdifference – namely, health and quality of life.

False message of hopeWhen focus is finally placed on areas of sportother than results, misunderstandings can occur.After the Sydney Olympics, for example, nativeAustralian Cathy Freeman became viewed as anicon by the international sports world – livingproof that sport could be used as a meansof political expression for oppressed peoples.

»However, she is just a human being who hasbeen used and misused as a symbol of a newera,« says Colin Tatz, professor at the AustralianInstitute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies,University of New South Wales, Australia.

»No one should think that her performancewill lead to 150,000 little aboriginal girls gettingup and taking up sport. The area where KathyFreeman comes from still has no electricity, nosewage system, and suffers from huge healthproblems. The average lifespan for women is 55years, for men it is 50. Kathy Freeman did notmake a difference.«

After a grim narrative detailing how abori-ginals have been subjected to every imaginableform of degradation by whites, how childrenhave been forcibly removed to be 'de-aborigi-nalised' and how an entire people were nearlyeradicated, Colin Tatz gives a number of exam-ples of aboriginal athletes being afforded starstatus in his nation. Each time, he says, it hasmeant nothing for the rights of native people insociety. They are still regarded as 'slaves' whoare permitted to become stars for a period oftime. If male athletes became too popular am-ongst white women, or if they in any way'stepped out of line', he says, they were simplyforced back into the wilderness.

When sport becomes a political toolIs sport a means of establishing minority rights, or just a tool used by politicians?

“ It was quite simply

the best conference

I have been to

for many years ”Ivan Waddington,

Sports Director,

University of Leicester, UK

Politiciansshould do moreto change thefocus of sportto health andquality of life,says John Hoberman

The media exposure ofKathy Freeman(in the middle)has not madeany differencein living condi-tions for theaborigines as a whole, tellsColin Tatz

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