My views on the statement of,’ The Union between sports and business is “often an uneasy one”. ‘

As stated in the article of “The business of sport”, sports and business have separate codes, interests and priorities. This is apparent in today’s sporting industry. Fundamentally this just states the fact the sports and business do not share much common similarities between them. Meaning, once they are united, expecting a positive outcome may be rare.
Sports/the involvement in sports seems to be an uprising trend amongst many globally in this era of the 21st century. Many “secretive” sports like tennis, squash and bowling are starting to shine in the sporting industry due to the exceptional participation by youths today. However, as we all know, sporting is “so-called, nothing” without sponsors. Sponsors are the key to the development in a specific sport.

Sponsorships mean more advertising. More advertising of the sport than leads to a skyrocketing interest in that sport. However, in today’s scenario, this statement can be a controversial issue to begin with.

Apparent examples show that sponsors have helped to increase the attractiveness of a certain sport. This is shown by the Motor Racing Industry, which has seen a massive hike in its magnetism to the sport and has also been classified to be a commercial break rather than a sport in past years. When looking at this statement, the portion on “…been classified to be a commercial break rather than a sport…” speaks wonders. This itself is a perceptible reason as to why the actual “Code” of the word sport is diminishing and why business when linked to sports, views massive profits. Therefore, one main reason as to why the union of business and sport is an uneasy one is because of the fact that the culture of sport is being brought down by the upcoming business sponsors, such as “Nike” for example.

Another key factor as to why the union of business and sport is an uneasy one, Is the stereotyping of sports stars. Five years ago, when Roger Federer (World Ranked 1 in Tennis) was mentioned to a teen or a young adult, their response would basically be, “yeah, he plays great on the court”. On the other hand, when you ask an adolescent who is Roger Federer, they give you a reply stating that, “oh yeah! Isn’t he the one appearing for the Gillette Shaving Advertisement?” This is what business has brought to the sporting world. An image that blinds the viewers from the truth but at the same time, portraying to them a false image of a certain personnel. Similarly, when asked who Maria Sharapova is, it would be obvious to obtain an answer going,” Isn’t she the model for the latest digital cameras?” This is what has come about to the world of today, and it is brought about mainly due to the union between business and sports. Therefore, in this case, business /sponsors do not just help to make one famous, but makes him/her famous in the wrong way. The identities of famous sportsmen are likely to be lost through this in years to come.

It is definitely wrong to say that sports should never merge with the business industry in terms of sponsors. If that is the case, none of us would be interested to take up a new sport every now and then. Without sponsors, the attractive segment of sports will be lost. However, if the power of business overshadows the sporting industry, then the likely outcome to that will be the clear dwindling of sports and the sporting culture.

-V.Nandeeshwar.