Once more the media is abuzz with the news of drugs in sport. We thought that the “drugs in sport” issue may have reached its dizzy heights with the Lance Armstrong affair. However, with revelations that certain highly prized Australian codes may be infected with a drug culture we were obviously mistaken.

Whilst I am a sports fan, enjoy a good game, and appreciate how money has helped to improve some grounds, the simple reality is that I have become increasingly disillusioned by the part that money has played in sport, all sports. The simple reality is that no sportsman is worth the current figures being paid. Take cricket as one example. Recent contract shuffles see Australian cricketers on retainers of $230,000. Michael Clarke receives a bonus as captain; While all players receive significant match fees – $14000 a test; $5600 per One Day match; and $4200 for a Twenty20.

Speaking in the context of AFL Boss Andrew Demeitriou’s salary, you may find this following paragraph of interest: “From an annual pay package of $560,000 – less than many of the best-paid players in the league back in 2004 – his pay climbed to $2.1 million last year, double that of dual Brownlow medallist Chris Judd. Last year the league’s 11 key executives – who all report directly to Demetriou – earned $6.2 million between them, an average of $536,500. That’s well above the $365,922 earned by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and 12 per cent more than the year before.”

Now many arguments will be adduced about how money can benefit sport. Those familiar with Cricket will have heard the mantra many times, even this summer. We will hear that money makes for better competition. We will hear that money makes for better competitors.¹ We will hear all sorts of arguments. What they do not openly discuss, however, is that this vast amount of money renders them as fruit ripe to be plucked.

In short, if there are large sums to be made then the unscrupulous will begin to circle like the hungry shark. Then we must add into this equation the emerging evil of “online betting” and, in particular, “sports betting”.² Similarly, we must add in the elevated status of Sports Stars. When I was a boy, Rock Stars were the in thing. Now, for the most part, these have taken a back seat to the “heart throbs” and “glamour girls” of sport.

When all this is taken into account the simple question is, “Why are we surprised that there are increasing incidents of drug induced cheating in sport?”

I have had a long standing opposition to excess money in sport. It harks back to the days of yore when I witnessed a “skins” game (golf). One player sunk a hole in one. His bonus was the equivalent of one year’s salary. Such should simply not be the case.

My objections are in essence threefold:

First, we arrive at the situation we have today. People’s lives are turned upside down. Reputations are ruined. That is at one end. At the other is the simple sports fan. He is disillusioned. Did his team win or did they tank. How does he trust any result. Is his boyhood hero really a hero, a gifted and well trained athlete or is he a drug cheat?

Second, people will respond by saying that these people are top athletes who train diligently and deserve what they receive. That is a cogent argument if it proves valid for all. When scrutinised, it falls flat. As a biased and proud husband, let me use my wife as an example. Annette spent years at university to get her initial degree. She has worked to hone her skills in clinical practice. She has completed further study. She has been engaged in training the next crop of “health professionals” through the university system. Yet, on a full time wage she would not receive half that of those on the cricket retainer. Unless she is keeping secrets, she has not had anyone offer her money to wear their particular brand of shoes; write exclusively with their pen; or appear on a television commercial pushing a particular product. Let’s put this into sharp relief. If cricket was stopped tomorrow, what would we lose? What would be the flow on effect? If people stopped turning up to institutions of higher education to train people, what would we lose?³

Third, I do not think that enough people stop to ask, “From where is sports money derived?”  What revenue does sport in and of itself generate?  The answer is, Nothing! You are the cash-cow of sport! That is right, YOU!! Sport receives some input from government. That is your tax. Then there is sponsorship. Where does that money come from? Yes, you! Every time you buy a bat, a ball, a sports singlet, or a franchise hamburger or chicken burger, you are paying for the sport. When you go through the turnstiles, you are paying for the sport.

I do not have such an issue with the turnstiles as that was how the operations were originally funded. However, now that there is such big money from sponsorship, people should be admitted free. I mean after all, it is not just sportspeople, but sports grounds, and sporting events that receive sponsorship.

You have for example, Blundstone arena in Tasmania. “Etihad” stadium in Melbourne. The “Cattery” was “Kardinia park” it is now Simonds Stadium. The Sheffield Shield was lost as a name of meaning to cricket for some years when it became the “Pura Cup”. The competition was then taken over by different sponsors. Seemingly the historic name “Sheffield” has been reunited to the domestic cricket scene, but only as a subtitle. Then we can look at team sponsorship and the matter of sponsorship by government agencies – again your taxpayer dollars. The SpeedBlitz Blues have as a major sponsor the RTA. We could then point to the TAC’s sponsorship of several AFL teams. When Collingwood lost that sponsorship due to an infraction by a player, they were said to have lost $500,000.

Think this through. Every time you pay your registration fee with its “third party” component – if you live in Victoria – you are paying for a football club. I imagine the NSW RTA is in a similar situation. Then we have the burgers and fries. The list is endless. However, the limitations of your wallet and income are not! How much do you pay every year for sponsorship; a hidden cost built into thousands of sporting products? Now companies will argue that such sponsorship comes from profits. We would counter, “Where do the profits come from?” Again, they come from you, the end user. You!

The simple reality of the situation is that we are now paying the Piper. We are seeing the consequence of our sin and rebellion. We have made sports people into the new gods. We have hailed them. We have worshipped them. However, when it is all boiled down, they are just finite, mortal, men and women.

Our God is angry. In His justice He is exposing these travesties for exactly what they are. They have stolen His name (Exodus 20:7). They have stolen His day of worship (Exodus 20:8). They have stolen His glory (Isaiah 42:8). They have even attempted to steal His crown (Nehemiah 9:18; 1 Kings 12:28). It is a mini saga replicating the key elements of Man’s rebellion in Genesis (Genesis 3:1-24).

Men, being fallen, are full of pride. Men, being fallen, love to be worshipped. Men, being fallen, love to receive tithes from their underlings. Men, being fallen, love to hear praise. Whilst this is ever the case, these fallen men will turn to anything to protect their status.

Man is corrupt. Mega dollars only magnify that corruption.

God’s wisdom in 1 Timothy 6:8-10 is: “And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.” Similarly Proverbs 11: 3 & 8: “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death” … “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.”

Drugs in sport, cheating, if you will, is but one more evidence of Man’s rebellion against God and of the corruption of his heart as a consequence of that rebellion. What we see is the innocent corrupted, yet again. What is before us with these fresh allegations is a giant tick for the Biblical view of man as fallen and corrupt. Yet man’s response will be to deal with this issue in his own power and after his own ideal, for the one thing he will not do is admit that he is “a sinner in the hands of an angry God.”

A general panacea to this epidemic will not be found until we return to God and His wisdom. By that is implied, a return to the message found in the text of Timothy quoted above. A return to being content with enough; not the most. A return to being content with what is adequate; not that which is in excess. A return to simply being content.⁴ Such contentedness comes only when the heart is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and through the proclamation of God’s law. It does so precisely because it makes us realise that gold and silver can never satisfy. It makes us realise that the only thing we can take from this world are our works and even these shall be tested by fire.

We have sown the wind. Now we shall reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). We have cast aside the most magnificent Being, revealed to us in Jesus Christ, known to us through the Bible’s revelation as God Almighty.  In his place we have established idols in our own image and likeness. These new gods have proven fallible. God has shaken (Jeremiah 10:10) the earth and these new gods have begun to fall. May their end be as that of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:3-4) of old – left lying in pieces at the feet of the One true and living God!

Footnotes:

            1. Like Tiger Woods being lured to play in Australian Masters with the Victorian Government paying 50% of his 3 million dollar appearance fee. Yes, it was touted to generate a 20 million dollar boast to the economy. However, how can one really measure such an input? If it is effective, why do the taxpayers have to foot the bill? If it is so effective why does the financial outlay not fall to those who expect to reap the most benefit?

            2. Think about this. Tobacco sponsorship was banned. Cricket lost a long term sponsor in Benson and Hedges. We know that it is illegal for players, in most codes, to bet on games or seemingly for even their relatives to do so. This was highlighted recently in AFL.  Yet now we have the St Kilda football club being sponsored by one online betting establishment. What message does this send? If you watched any cricket this year, you will have seen another online betting establishment prominently featured. Where is the consistency? Oh yes, we always hear, “Remember, gamble responsibly?” but who are they trying to kid? Why not say, Smoke responsibly?

            3.  Yes, we would all agree that the university system needs an overhaul and that it would be a blessing if some “faculty” did not turn up. However, this is not the norm. Doctors, Veterinarians, Para-medical, Lawyers all contribute a great deal to society. A similar example is that of my brother. He is a mechanic. He has slogged away for years in an unsung profession. If all mechanics stayed home tomorrow, how long would it take for our country to grind to a halt?

            4. An illustration of what is meant here, a simple illustration, is the mobile phone craze. How many people do you know who go for the latest phone and gadget whether they need it or not?