The Price of Success

Like most people who either follow sport or can feel emotions, I was appalled at the attack on the Togo national soccer team a few days ago. A rebel group sprayed the bus carrying the team with machine gun fire for a full twenty minutes.  Three people; the driver, a press officer and the team’s assistant coach died in the attack. Despite this, the Confederation of African Football was insisting that Togo play on in the African Nations Cup.

This complete lack of compassion from the CAF can be explained in one easy statement. 80% of the CAF’s revenue comes from the biennial competition. I find it sickening that sport has come to this level of disregard for the mental well being of its stars.

Less than a month ago, an NFL player, Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals, died following a car accident. He died on a Thursday, his funeral was on Saturday and his teammates had to go out and play on Sunday. All the commentators were talking about how the tragedy would provide the motivation for the Bengals to go out and win. Looking at the interviews with a teary Chad OchoCinco or even looking at the coverage of a visibly shaken Emmanuel Adebayor, it is obvious that this couldn’t be further from the truth.  Professional sports people are people too and so are affected by death in a similar way. If anything it’s worse as their incredible physical condition, the media hype, their immense success adds to that idea of immortality that all young people have. To have that rocked so dramatically is bound to have effects.

Historically, professional sports people have never had support structures. Foreign players coming to play in the Premiership often felt isolated and thus why many of them never seem to settle. This has improved in recent years with such foundations as Tony Adams’ Sporting Chance clinic. However again the FA has shown what it values; the FA are cutting 10% across the board to be able to afford Capello’s half a million pound salary, a cut which many believe will include the comparatively paltry £50,000 this clinic receives. This could mean that the clinic could go under. But as long as the fans and the tabloids are happy who cares? Who cares about the Robert Enkes? Who gives a damn as long as the bottom line is black?

Professional sports people have long been vilified as over-paid, under-educated lads with no connection to the real world. As the saying goes however, it’s lonely at the top, and not enough is being done to ensure that these young people come out at the other end in one piece physically and mentally.

Kudos to the Togolese government for valuing people over money.