Wrong use of sports

While many politicians are raring to get involved in sports just to get the votes, some are obviously doing it the wrong way.

Getting involved in sports is a great way to get elected, but please spare it from too much politics.

When we read the story about a basketball goal donated by a city councilor, who has openly announced his intention to run for mayor, which was taken down by the barangay captain, we could not help but feel so angry.

I am not naming names since personally I don't care who these people are, but then the actions displayed by these politicians, most specially those who took down the goals, speak badly about the state of Philippine politics.

This is another example of a good reason why many people prefer to leave the country and start anew elsewhere halfway around the world.

What is worse was when the politicians justified their move saying that somebody had already committed goals for the court and the ones that were taken down were put there without permission.

Of course, these basketball goals are great campaign materials since the politicians can have their names painted on them without fear of violating the elections laws.

Do sports have to suffer because of the greed of the politicians? I am a believer in the partnership of government and the private sector for sports development, but unfortunately many people in government seem to have a very limited understanding of what is a real mass-based program that would help improve the athletes and not only their chances of reelection.

If the politicians, who use sports, will only carefully analyze it, the success of the development programs that they support can be their best campaign material if handled properly.

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When I see statements from organizers of sporting events that they are doing it as part of the drive against the use of drugs, the first thing I ask is what time would they be holding the events?

Why? The reason is simple.

If a sporting event is held very late at night, that is very dangerous and would instead promote drug abuse rather than discourage it.

Yes, there are athletes who'd rather put their focus on improving their skills at the game they love to play, but what about those who flock to the community basketball courts just to watch or even wander around late at night without the supervision of adults?

If organizers of sporting events are serious about helping curb drug abuse, then they better hold events not in the wee hours of the night, but in a schedule that would allow the youth to go home early.

Many organizers would probably say that there would be no people to watch if the games are held early evenings. Maybe they should rethink their promotion strategies so people would come and watch when the games start early.

The use of sports to combat drug abuse can only be successful if done properly. If not, then this is just another case of lip service for organizers and our politicians.

Vote wisely this May 14. If you decide to support a politician because of his involvement in sports, make sure that he really is doing it right and not just using sports to make him more popular if not wasting the money of the people by supporting programs that are only for cosmetic purposes.