Play the Game of Life Ethically

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 13 November 2023 This article explores how an event during the Bangladesh Cricket Team's recent victory against Sri Lanka demonstrates the importance of ethical conduct, respecting fair play, and accepting defeat with dignity, as unethical means can lead to condemnation. …. Recently, an ugly incident during the ongoing World Cup has jolted the conscience of all those who love sports, not just cricket. Shakib of the Bangladesh cricket team enacted an appeal to have Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews ‘timed out’ after his chin strap broke upon arrival at the crease, and he was forced to wait for another helmet — taking him well beyond the allowed two minutes to face-up for his first ball. Mathews became the first person in 146 years of international cricket to be dismissed in such a fashion, triggering significant uproar about the Bangladesh skipper’s opportunistic actions. When you strive to win at any cost, you demean yourself. Life is not all about winning all the time. Life is also about your graceful and gracious acceptance of defeat and magnanimity of spirit. Your wins and defeats are remembered for a few days. But the triumph of your (sporting) spirit is remembered forever. The great Sir Frank Worrell and his West Indies team lost to Australia (2-1) in the famous 1960/61 Test series down under. But Sir Frank Worrell and his team won the hearts of all. The Australian Captain Richie Benaud said, " Australia's series win will be forgotten within a year but the greatness of my counterpart Frankie (Benaud called Frank Worrell, Frankie) and his sporting team will remain eternally etched in all hearts." Why do we want to win all the time by shelving every rule of fair play and ethics? Why is an occasional defeat such a big deal for us? Because we have not been taught to accept defeat with grace and dignity. We accrue too much value and importance to a mere win and think that life comes to an end with a loss. That is seriously fallacious conditioning and a pathologically flawed perception. Today, the Bangladesh team is being condemned by all and sundry despite winning that match against Sri Lanka. What did it get or gain by winning unscrupulously? Alas, it gained nothing by winning an odd game by resorting to unfair means. Life is also like a game. When we try to win it unethically, it backfires and brings condemnation. … A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. ---------- URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/play-game-life-ethically/d/131101 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism