When do we consider an individual a good, honest, and sincere one?

When one’s thoughts and actions are honest, logical, inclusive, not cause any harm or injury to anyone, both physical or mental. He is expected to be at the same time intelligent enough to safeguard himself, and without causing trouble to others. 

But you see, when it comes to a game or sport, we always want to be the winner. The one who fails is hooted, ridiculed, and insulted with supreme arrogance. 

But a sports person is expected to take these insults and criticism positively, euphemistically termed as ‘sportively’. 

Is that so? I am sorry, I beg to differ. 

While everyone keeps singing paeans of the winner, many ridicule the one defeated in all possible manner. Many times, these insults go beyond limits also. 

Is it human? Is that to be called sportive? 

A specific scene in the recent movie ‘Homebound’, where the Indian Cricket team wins a match, a poor young Muslim boy in the group also feels happy because he is in India. But his big bosses, who are much aged, well off both in position and wealth, in spite of his camaraderie, ridicule him ad nauseum. In fact, it was a dinner organized by his office for which he would have brought some sweet prepared by his poor mother to distribute. But when the insinuations cross the tolerable limit, the boy breaks down, walks away with his tiffin box, shouting at the group of elders how he feels offended. 

Do you think in this case the young boy should take it ‘sportively’ when the elder gang keeps demeaning him because he belongs to Islam? 

I felt totally shocked and disenchanted by this scene. But it happens everywhere and always. Poverty, illiteracy, handicaps, poor comprehension are all invariably ridiculed. It is more in the case of sports.  

The winners are made to sit on cloud 9, while the failed ones are pushed to the abyss beyond decency. 

When it becomes competitive, I hate ‘sport’ and the word ‘sportive’. Because many times honesty goes down, and crookedness only wins. There is nothing to consider ‘sportive’. 

I just cannot digest or tolerate this as ‘sportive’ or any linguistic term but ‘rubbish’.