Stars Sacrifice Freedom of Speech
It has been reported that numerous soccer stars at the South Africa World Cup 2010 have been made to sacrifice their freedom of speech for the greater good of their national teams.
England boss Fabio Capello, together with German coach Joachim Loew, Brazilian manager Carlos Dunga, and Mexico chief Javier Aguirre, have all imposed a twitter ban on their players. The Spanish team have also been blocked from social networking websites, prompting defender Carlos Puyol to respond: “We are old enough to know what to do and what not to do.”
The head coach of Chile, Marcelo Bielsa, has not only prevented their self-expression on Twitter, but also on the internet generally at night, and through the press. To top things off, there is a sex ban as well. Alcohol and sex bans are not uncommon (though Diego Maradonna is allowing sex for the Argentines) but all these combined constitutes serious control.
Part of me therefore says this is wrong for denying people the freedom of speech and behaviour they are entitled to. There is another side to all this, however. Holland manager Bert van Marwijk is one coach who did not impose a ban on social media, but lived to regret his tolerance when forward Eljero Elia stirred up controversy by using the words “Cancerous Morrocan” online. It would seem that Carlos Puyol’s complete faith in players to do what’s best is a little unjustified, then, indicating that perhaps managers are wise to exercise some control over their players speech and behaviour. After all, there have been enough media scandals involving top level players to know that too much freedom and attention has its own negative consequences.
Nor is this level of authority and discipline by any means unique to soccer. Workplaces across the world have banned the use of facebook for fears of distraction and lost productivity. Similarly, schools impose bans on social media and gaming sites to prevent students from escaping work during IT lessons. Perhaps it is only fair that soccer stars are brought into line with the standards that everyone else already experiences.
If a ban from using social media helps concentration and keeps a team on course for world cup victory, then I don’t think anyone will be complaining. It is a short term sacrifice, a minor one in the end you might say, and one that could be well worth the players making for their personal success as sports stars.
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Have fun,
Soccer Geek
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P.S. Do you agree with restrictions on the speech and behaviour of sports players?
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