Poor treatment of a horse is not a win or a place

Australia has one of the biggest markets when it comes to horse racing. You can either be a casual punter, it could be your job to pick winners, or to train them, or even ride them. You may have ownership or shares in a horse. Sure it's expensive, but it's a hobby for many people. But what is overlooked often is how the horses themselves are treated. No one asks what the horses life is like, they just want to make money. How desperate are you to make a horse win? So much to the point that you'll race it when it is just two years old? It's not even fully developed so it's definitely running the risk of serious injury, but sure it happens anyway. The Golden Slipper is perhaps the most glamourous two year old race in Australia with prizemoney up to 3.5 million dollars. The people who win must think it's definitely worth it, but is it really? As a horse who is training constantly for big races, there is a strict routine in place. Mainly involving staying in a stable all day, being worked too hard for the short amount of time they are not stabled, and being fed lots of unnatural supplements and feeds. They should be out in the open, not going stir crazy. They should be grazing, not getting stomach ulcers from the various grains. (Animals Australia)

The main question here and what the majority don't even know the answer to, is what happens to the horses after they have finished their racing careers, what happens to the ones who never make a career out of it and don't win or be successful to the liking of the trainers, owners etc. ? One possibility is they could be cast to compete in steeplechase racing, which is racing with jumps incorporated, sure this looks fun and different to the hard intense gallops, but in fact these races are infact taking more toll on the body of these horses who more often than not are already broken down. This in turn could create more injuries and fatalities because of the debilitating injuries that may occur. If a bone is already shattered to the point of no repair, quite often the horse is euthanised right there on the spot. Today was actually the 153rd running of the Melbourne Cup, the most well known and prestigious race that stops the nation on the 1st Tuesday of November every year. As I was watching, one horse pulled up short shortly after the race had begun, but the announcer didn't even say anything. I found out later that Verema was put down on the spot as the injuries were too severe. It's just sad that this happens at all.

As I began researching this a few days ago, I found out something quite shocking. I was completely unaware of abbatoirs and horses having any sort of connection. I realise now that's not the smartest thing, but i'd honestly just never thought about horses like that, as opposed to the cows and other animals that we eat. More often than not, they are used for various pet meats, but I had no idea how prominent it was. 25000 horses per year are slaughtered. (Animals Australia). It's honestly awful how badly treated some horses can be but there are some small bright spots within all of the negative. We've had racehorses staying at our place for some time being raised since they were foals, one had a foot injury and we were told she could never race, but instead of some horrible result, she still lives in the paddock and is well looked after and has company with other horses. It's not all bad. But it could be much, much better.

References:

(2013). Horse Racing, the glitz, the glamour, the grim reality.. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/horse_racing.php. [Last Accessed 4th November 2013].

Race Horse Abuse. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.animal-rights-action.com/horse-abuse.html. [Last Accessed 5th November 2013].

Mobbs, A (2013). International Stayer Verema euthanised after breaking down in Melbourne Cup. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.foxsports.com.au/other-sports/horse-racing/international-stayer-verema-euthanised-after-breaking-down-in-melbourne-cup/story-e6frf41l-1226753640337. [Last Accessed 5th November 2013].

Torres, C and Chen, P (2012). There are no winners: Horse racing is unethical. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4086304.html. [Last Accessed 5th November 2013

Howden, S (2013). Horse Meat Trade quietly thrives despite "nasty" image. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/horse-meat-trade-quietly-thrives-despite-nasty-image-20130222-2ewom.html. [Last Accessed 4th November 2013].

2012 Olympics Badminton Scandal

8 players disqualified from London Olympics for throwing games.

Amongst all the hype and excitement of the 2012 London Olympic Games, there was a dark moment that happened on the badminton courts on August the 1^st. Eight players in the women’s doubles competition were thrown out following an inquiry by the Badminton World Federation in London. (The Telegraph) These eight players were accused of wanting to lose, in order to manipulate the draw for the knockout stages for the Olympics. (BBC) As a result of these disqualifications it also meant that the world number one pair of Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China were also thrown out of the competition (CNN), causing much uproar amongst Chinese fans.

              

Due to the fact that Chinese pair Tian Quing and Zhao Yunlei had won their match, if Yu and Wang had lost then the only time they would have faced each other was in the finals. (BBC) The crowd was not oblivious to what was going on either, with the onlookers booing and hissing as all the teams from Asia were intentionally playing poorly in order to be better positioned for the knockout rounds of the competition. (The Daily Beast) The WBF have said in their statement that the pairs have been charged with “not using ones best efforts to win a match” and “conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport”. (The Telegraph)

Due to the fact that this is the first time Badminton was being played in a round robin format it allowed for players to manipulate “dead rubber” games to their advantage. This was also admitted to by South Korea head coach Sung Han-kook, who said that they attempted to throw their games against the Indonesians and the Chinese. Although he did concede that these tactic were only in retaliation against the Chinese team who started the problem of purposefully losing. This comes as much of a surprise to many fans of badminton, as badminton in China is its national sport. To think that a nation who is so proud of its badminton skill and success would even think of throwing games was not even a thought. As soon as Yu and Wang were thrown out of the Olympic Games, Yu promptly went on Chinese state television and issued an apology and sought out forgiveness. “We did not comply with the Olympic spirit, and did not deliver a match with our true level to the audience, the fans and the friends.” The pressure even turned out to be too much for Yu Yang as she even announced her imminent retirement from the sport as a result of the scandal.

The fact that people were found to be deliberately losing games in badminton is bad enough, but what I find makes it worse is the fact it was being done at the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games is the pinnacle of sporting success, it shows the world the best athletes doing the best at what their sport is. To go against everything that the Olympics stand for is outrageous, to throw games whilst being at the highest level in sport, when others would have done anything to be in their position is just not right. The punishment that these players received I found were just, there is no bigger offense you could commit, besides drug related offenses, than going against the Olympic Spirit, which is all the Olympics represent. From what reports said on how the WBF handled this situation and how it will handle, if there are any, similar offenses then I believe purposeful losing will soon become a thing of the past.

References:

Kelso P. (2012, August 1).  Badminton pairs expelled from London 2012 Olympics after ‘match-fixing’ scandal.

               The Telegraph, Retrieved from

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/badminton/9443922/Badminton-pairs-expelled-from-London-2012-Olympics-after-match-fixing-scandal.html

Greene R. (2012, August 2). Olympic Badminton Players Disqualified for Trying to Lose.

               CNN, Retrieved from

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/01/sport/olympics-badminton-scandal/

(2012, August 1). Olympics Badminton: Eight Women Disqualified from Doubles.

               BBC Sport Olympics, Retrieved from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19072677

Levin D. (2012, August 2). Olympics Badminton Scandal Rocks china.

               The Daily Beast, Retrieved from

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/02/olympics-badminton-scandal-rocks-china.html

76ers haven't read the memo on Tanking, or maybe they've decided to play fair.

So it's been almost a whole week into the NBA season and I haven't been happier in a while, but the biggest story is not about Miami picking up where they left off, or Derrick Rose turning the Bulls into a wonder team, but in fact the Philadelphia 76ers confusing everyone by winning their first three games, including derailing the two teams mentioned above who would be regarded as title contenders, with the help of new rookie sensation Michael Carter-Williams. In his first career NBA game, he posted an incredible stat line and was one steal away from recording a triple-double, and being only the second player in history to have a triple-double on debut besides Oscar Robertson. Anyway, i'm not here to rave about MCW or Philly, but rather to talk about a serious issue in the NBA, tanking.

Tanking refers to a team stopping giving their full effort to increase their chances of landing a future star by receiving a better pick in a draft. So why this year? "It's simple, the 2014 draft class is touted as the best since 2003, which produced LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony." (The Roar, 2013) This year's coming draft is stacked with future stars including our own Aussie star Dante Exum, who resides here in Canberra, and Andrew Wiggins, the star who everyone is projecting to be the no. 1 pick next year. "Riggin' for Wiggins" has become a term heard more frequently as the beginning of the season has started, and will only be heard more and more. There are a few cellar dweller teams who know they have no chance of winning the title this year, or even coming close, but if they were to lose, they have a higher chance of getting Andrew Wiggins via the draft lottery. There is incentive of landing a future superstar, but is it fair to the fans and the game that a team should attempt to deliberately lose for a season? This detracts from the idea that on any given night, two teams play as hard as they can in order to win the game and please their fans. I wouldn't want to go to a game where the Utah Jazz are playing and they decide to rest a healthy Gordon Hayward, who is my one of my favourite players on their team and one of their up and coming best players, because they don't need to win, it's just simply not good for the game. It creates a feeling of disbelief within the players, it "discourages effort, players and coaches feel that no one is counting on them to win, so they disengage." ( Bleacher Report, 2013) In an email exchange, Malcolm Gladwell talked of the issue, stating "you simply cannot have a system that rewards people for losing" comparing it to moral hazard. In an anonymous survey held recently, one GM of a team admitted to tanking this year. "It's tough for us to compete with that", talking of the contenders and the big market teams signing players in free agency, "a high lottery pick is all we have." (Yahoo, 2013). I would want to stay anonymous too.

Anyway, back to Philly for a second. This is the team according to "Bill and Jalen's NBA Preview" on Grantland, (which i watched religiously and still watch) who were destined to have the worst record this season, and were obviously tanking. They barely improved their team over the offseason or even attempted to/ This could still happen, it's sport so they could lose every one of their 79 games left in the season. Or maybe the players have taken it upon themselves to play as hard as they can every night because, like most people, they do not like to lose. This is what I would like to see, as an avid fan myself. Basketball legend Michael Jordan is against the idea as well, he said "I don't know if some teams have thought of that, that's not something we would do." (Complex.com, 2013) He currently owns the Charlotte Bobcats. They poured out a massive amount of money, $13 million a year contract on Al Jefferson, (not saying it wasn't deserved) but a team who was tanking just wouldn't do that. Last year, Kyrie Irving, a young up and coming star for the Cleveland Cavaliers was injured and it helped their chances in the lottery, because they lost without him playing, and sure enough, they landed the no 1. pick in this years draft. "The NBA is a league in which a rising young star's injury brings a team closer to it's short term goal." (Grantland, 2013)

Speaking of the lottery, Henry Abbott says that "essentially the best run teams are getting penalised while the worst run teams are rewarded." (True Hoop, 2012). It's no secret that tanking becoming a more pronounced issue within the NBA. Other sports have even begun to talk about it, in an article by the Buffalo News, that focuses on tanking in the NHL, it even refers to the NBA and how the problem could be solved. The team with the best record who doesn't make the postseason should get the highest draft pick. (2013) This would mean that the teams who may try to make it to the playoffs and could potentially fail have still made a concerting effort to make it to the postseason. This means that incentive is created for every team to attempt to get past the regular season, which means more competitive games on a nightly basis, which means more fans, which means a better sport overall. I think it's a great idea and the guys at Bleacher Report (my favourite sporting website) seem to have a similar line of thinking. Khan says that the two lowest seeds from wither conference have problems winning anyway so he thinks that teams could potentially even mini tank the last couple of games to snag that top lottery pick, so he says that we should expand the lottery to the 7 and 8 seeds as well, giving teams more intent to strive to make the post-season. (2013)

On the other hand, it can be argued that tanking can be good for the league, "positively impacting team positioning for the postseason, therefore increasing revenue in the league".( Bleacher Report, 2012) I still don't agree with it, and when the day comes where all 30 teams are trying to win each and every night, the sport will be much better for it. 


References:

Yuscavage, C (2013). Michael Jordan not a fan of NBA tanking games. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.complex.com/sports/2013/11/michael-jordan-not-fan-nba-teams-tanking. [Last Accessed 3rd November 2013].

Gleason, B (e.g. 2011). NHL, NBA could put a stop to tanking. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.buffalonews.com/columns/bucky-gleason/nhl-nba-could-put-a-stop-to-tanking-20131031. [Last Accessed 4th November 2013].

Khan, E (2013). How to solve the NBA's tanking problem. [ONLINE] Available at: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1754160-how-to-solve-the-nbas-tanking-problem. [Last Accessed 3rd November 2013].

Cherin-Gordon, S (2013). The Myth of Tanking and why it has no place in the NBA. [ONLINE] Available at: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1723628-the-myth-of-tanking-and-why-it-has-no-place-in-the-nba. [Last Accessed 2nd November, 2013].

Simmons, B (2009). Gladwell-Simmons, Part II. [ONLINE] Available at: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090513/part2. [Last Accessed 3rd November 2013].

Abbott, H (2012). Tanking is the tip of the iceberg. [ONLINE] Available at: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/39318/tanking-is-the-tip-of-the-iceberg. [Last Accessed 2nd November, 2013].

Koremenos, B (2013). Solving the real problem with the NBA's tanking epidemic. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/54121/solving-the-real-problem-with-the-nbas-tanking-epidemic. [Last Accessed 4th November 2013].

Dwyer, K (2013). One NBA general manager admits to tanking the 2013-14 season, anonymously. [ONLINE] Available at: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-
lie/one-nba-general-manager-admits-tanking-2013-14-192122473--nba.html. [Last Accessed 4th November 2013].

Pybus, M (2013). Why are so many NBA teams tanking in 2013-14?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/11/04/why-are-so-many-nba-teams-tanking-in-2013-14/. [Last Accessed 3rd November 2013].

Scaletta, K (2012). Is 'Tanking" Really Bad for the NBA?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1153502-is-tanking-really-bad-for-the-nba. [Last Accessed 2nd November, 2013].

Washington Redskins Name Change

Call to Scalp Washington's Nickname

               Once again the Washington National Football team has come into controversy. With once again a familiar theme, the NFL teams nickname the Washington ‘Redskins’. American Indian group Oneida Indian Nation on October 30^th called on the National Football League to use its powers to forcefully change the controversial name. (Mail Online) Not only has this American Indian group made complaints but also congress has made its point to the NFL franchise. Previously in May 10 members of congress sent a letter to Washington owner Dan Snyder in addition to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and 31 other NFL teams. (Huffington Post) Urging the name change due to harm and lowered self-esteem amongst Native Americans, especially amongst the younger community. In addition earlier in the year the National Congress had even issued to the team a statement opposing its nickname. Saying that it is time that the “Washington football team join the 21^st century” and that they should leave the “mockery and racism in the past where it belongs”. (Huffington Post)

              

Although there is clear outrage from officials on the controversial NFL nickname, it seems most of the public do not agree with what they have to say. A recent poll showed the 79 percent of people do not think that Washington should change their name. This is also in accordance with the Washington Redskins owner Mr Snyder when he spoke with USA today on the issue. Stating that he “will never change the name of the team”, he believes “redskin fans understand the great tradition and what it’s all about and what it means”. (Huffington Post) On the other side of this is Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter and what he had to say about the term ‘redskin’. Stating “the use of the r-word is not a unifying force nor does it convey respect. It is the very word people heard when they were dragged by gunpoint off their land”. (Mail Online) Halbritter has also written to the NFL commissioner reasoning that he has not taken the necessary action to deal with this racist term. That the authority being used is far below those that are used for simple issues such as salary cap violations, on-field celebrations that don’t reflect well on the game and punishing off-field misconduct by team officials. (ESPN NFL)

              

When you delve further into the issue that is present with the Washington NFL team, it seems to only get worse for the franchise. Under the dictionary definition of the term is simply says “American Indian” with a disclaimer “usually offensive”. Now this doesn’t help the NFL team in its case of believe the term is not offensive and should be kept. Although evidence points towards the team name should be changed Daniel Snyder continues to press his point further, shown by the letter he sent out to all of the Washington fans. “After 81 years, the team name “R*******” continues to hold the memories and meaning of where we came from, who we are, and who we want to be in the years to come”. (Bleacher Report) It is evident that there is still a lot of progress that needs to be made before any compromise arises.

              

What is an interesting development on the issue is that an increasing number of reporters and media companies are refusing to use the term ‘redskins’. Joel Barkin wrote to Mr Snyder confirming the drop of the name amongst the media. Saying that “It’s a name that journalists across the world of sports are simply refusing to use”. Continuing on to say that the “brand is going to lead to more protests, boycotts and lawsuits”.

              

The way I see it is the Washington Redskins are fighting a war which they simply won’t win. The US is a cultural melting pot where equality is encouraged everywhere in their daily lives, it’s an issue that they have been dealing with for most of their history. The fact that Mr Snyder is keeping the name purely based on the reasons of it being their history as a team for so long is one that won’t stand. People will begin to weigh up which is more important, the retention of a NFL teams name or stopping the racial offense towards American Indians. There has been plenty of other instances where professional sports teams have changed their name for the greater good. The Washington Bullets did not need to change their name, but did so due to the rise of gun-related violence. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays simply dropped the devil from their name of their own accord. It clearly wouldn’t be difficult for just a simple name change for the respective NFL team. But as such the owner is sticking to his guns and will continue to refuse even the thought of a name change, to satisfy the out cries of American Indians. The NFL has shown how seriously it takes the Oneida Indian Nation bid to change the Redskins’ name, when the commissioner did not even attend the meeting. To encourage equality amongst all races in the United States the NFL needs to clearly take a larger stance on the issue and encourage or force Washington to address the problem at hand. This problem doesn’t look like it’s going away until the controversial ‘Redskins’ have been changed.

References:

Hall M. (2013, October 31). American Indians call on the NFL to force Redskins name change as the league and owner stand by the controversial moniker.

Mail Online. Retrieved from

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2481391/NFL-force-Washington-Redskins-change-controversial-name.html

Atkins L. (2013, June 5). It’s Time to Scalp the Washington Redskins’ Nickname.

               Huff Post Sports. Retrieved from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-atkins/its-time-to-scalp-the-was_b_3377760.html

Schottey M. (2013, October 31). Washington Redskins Name Change Would Be a Win-Win for Everyone.

               Bleacher Report. Retrieved from

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1831844-washington-redskins-name-change-would-be-a-win-win-for-everyone

Van Natta Jr D. (2013, October 31). Oneida, NFL meet about Redskins.

               ESPN NFL. Retrieved from

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9903563/oneida-nation-meets-nfl-leadership-seek-washington-redskins-name-mascot-change