A Wise Elder Statesman Makes A Controversial Suggestion

TODAY'S conversation starter comes from an original idea by opne of Scottish Rugby's elder statesmen: “Lord Lothian of Leith,” or Bill Lothian as he is better known in rugby circles.

Bill Lothian

The erudite and distinguished former rugby correspondent of The Edinburgh Evening News, in a Facebook post this morning wrote:

“Fed up with words like “catastrophe” and “grave peril” being attached to pro sport along with their appeals for public hand outs.

What would be so wrong in being amateur? Like the GAA?

Sport should firstly be about playing and if we could get rid of some leeches draining our sports of cash that would be as big a bonus as ending the practice of “buying” Olympic medals for jingoistic governments to boast about.”

Bill's suggestion has its merits and is worth considering. However, I fear the ever-growing (thus far) army of professional sports administrators who have been allowed to breed like rabbits these past few decades will prove as difficult to eardicate as, well rabbits.

These paper shufflers and desk jockeys are remarkably good at making themselves indispensable, and they can expand their wee empires faster than even the British in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Curbing their powers, then getting rid of their excess numbers will prove to be a long-term process, with no guarantee of eventual success.

If I may indulge in blatant pedantry - “sport” is, strictly speaking, country pursuits: Huntin'. Shootin' and fishin'. “Sports” such as athletics, basketball, cricket, duathlon, equestrian sports, football, golf, hockey, ice hockey, judo, karate, lawn tennis, motor sport, netball, orienteering, petangue, quoiting, rugby, squash, table tennis, ultra-running, volleyball, wrestling, x-games, yachting, zorb football – to name but 26, are actually games.

In most cases, sadly: “The game's a bogey” when it comes to curbing the power of the professional sports administrators. After all, all those participants in these games need the right equipment, which is now a multi-billion dollar industry. The people selling these must-have pieces of equipment, such as the “Air Jordan”, Adidas or Puma shoes and clothing need to be able to interact with fellow professionals.

Governments, when using games for prestige, like to know they are speaking to the same people on a regular basis, today's journalists want to have continuity of contact with the people running the game they are writing about, hence, the proliferation of professional administrators.

Take the SRU as an example – the President changes every two years, Council members come and go, but, the executives – even when they mess-up badly, are rarely replaced. They offer the continuity the equipment manufacturers and politicians crave.

However, as Bill says in his Facebook post: “What would be so wrong in being amateur?” After all, amateur comes from the very first Latin word old Bill Pitkethley ever asked my class-mates and I in 1A at The Academy to decline, back there in 1958. I can still do the declination by rote: “Amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant.” Back then, love was truly all around. And, if you don't love a game, why are you playing it?

Croke Park - home of the strictly-amateur GAA

When you look at how well-run Ireland's Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is – arguably the largest truly-amateur sporting body in the world – then there is something to be said for our elected representatives culling the professional administrators, and getting back to basics. Maybe, in the new normal post-pandemic, this will happen.

I fear, however, the professional arm of rugby will continue to be important once we get out of lockdown – too-many vested interests. However, I still maintain, we will see some serious cut-backs, there is no way the SRU can continue to justify 450 employees, once this is over.

My other fear is, the very-real problems in the game will be largely ignored at a time, with nothing happening playing-wise, we have time to look at the faults and resolve to do something about them.

I don't see us sorting-out the failings in the current Laws of the Game – the scrum, the breakdown etc., and, more-importantly, the proper policing of these.

I will continue to argue for changes which will make the grass roots community game safer, less-attritional and more-acceptable to play. I would also argue that the SRU should de-centralise more at grass-roots level, and, that we do something to curb the power of the private schools to establish a level playing field between club and school games at under-18 level.

As for Bill's final point about: “the practice of “buying” Olympic medals for jingoistic governments to boast about.” I fancy that might change going forward, but, again, entrenched interests in the world of sports administration etc. will fight it to the bitter end.