Critiquing Representations of a Sports Star - Shoaib Akhtar - Coursework Example

Critiquing Representations of a Sports Star – Shoaib Akhtar Stars are not born everyday and when one speaks of cricket stars, they are born in decades. Shoaib Akhtar is one such cricket star who has made it big within the world of glamour, sports and media – all at the same time. He has had a ‘playboy’ reputation and the media has always portrayed his antics on the cricket field as well as off it in a very gigantic way. He is indeed media’s favorite son and more so within Pakistan, for which he plays and represents the national team. Shoaib Akhtar is a Pakistan, based in the twin cities of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. He started his cricket pretty late from the cricketing standards and the fact that he is flat footed makes him an entirely difficult person to have within the realms of sports. However he made his image and talent count in the wake of his natural instincts and abilities. He has proved to everyone around him how well he could run and bowl. (Cowley, 2005) However and as a matter of fact he has always remained in the limelight for all the wrong reasons. Thus the relation of his choosing for this essay is because media has played a pivotal role in making him a larger than life celebrity where in reality he is just an out and out fast bowler of the game. His persona has been victimized; he has been banned and put within the folds of controversies left, right and center. He is indeed the most controversial sports star that the Pakistani nation has produced in its 60 year sporting history. Shoaib Akhtar debuted for the Pakistan Cricket Team in the year 1997 against the West Indies. He had talent right from the very beginning hence the reason that he was given a chance to represent Pakistan at the top level. However his disciplinary issues with fellow players, management and board chairmen have continued to date. He has always defied the law and taken the same in his own hands. (Marqusee, 2000) He has been vocal at protesting against the rules which is a direct non-conformance with the contract that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has offered him. He has always remained in the media’s grasp for all the wrong reasons. This is because Shoaib Akhtar has loved the criticism that has been thrown his way. He has for one reason or the other loved remaining in the midst of controversies. Shoaib Akhtar has always believed that his personality is bigger than the game of cricket which is pretty untrue. The game must remain the parent body and the stars should remain loyal towards their commitment and display the best of attitude at all times. Unfortunately, Shoaib Akhtar has been pulled into all sorts of controversies, small or large, of his own doing as well as of others’ but the fact lies that he is media’s favorite son, not exactly for any positives – one thing is for certainty. His big mouth has often led him into serious trouble at the hand of fellow players, administrators and past cricketers alike. He has even abused media fraternity at times and condemns their attitude for devising false propaganda against his rising image and personality. He has always compared his own self with Indian ‘Bollywood’ stars as well as past and present cricketers who made it big immensely within the game. One thing is for sure, his attitude has always been wrong on nearly all occasions. Moving further ahead with the critique of Shoaib Akhtar as a cricketer and as a person, he has been misquoted a number of times in the media as well. At times, he has been portrayed as the villain within the cricket team, let alone the issues surrounding his personal life. He has been caught at nightclubs when he has broken the curfew timings set for the cricket team. Shoaib has openly told the media that he has a private nightlife, a fact that is not particularly liked by the Pakistani media. (Veenstra, 2007) This is because the Pakistani culture does not allow for such tall claims made by a sporting icon which they adore immensely. He has also mentioned that he has a sexually active lifestyle, which is not in keeping with his religious stance since he is a Muslim and Muslims cannot be sexually active until and unless they get married. On record, he is single and does not plan to get married for the next 5 years but the media keeps on knitting stories that relate him with one actress after another. The worst possible reason that could be presented here is that he has never come out clean against the controversies that have been tagged along his name. One should believe that this has happened because he has loved remaining in the news for more wrong reasons than the positives ones. He has never given a statement that condemns any newspaper or magazine article written against his personality thus he has given media the liberty to play with his domestic and professional life in a manner that has suited the best interests of the media and as one should put the same, of Shoaib Akhtar’s as well. He has recognized the power of negative publicity for remaining in the limelight and has thus resisted in issuing any statements which dispel the impression that he is not a bad man after all. Much of the criticism centered on his personality is thus pretty factual to begin with. Highlighting the issues that Shoaib Akhtar has seen himself falling into, the most noteworthy of which is the doping scandal, he has been at the center of attraction in a few others as well. He was sent back from India when he was a part of the ICC Champions Trophy squad in the year 2006 when he and his fellow fast bowling compatriot, Mohammad Asif were found to have taken a banned substance nandrolone. He was immediately banned from playing cricket and representing Pakistan at any level. Asif, on the other hand was given a suspended sentence of a year after which he could resume playing cricket. He cried double standards were dealt with his case and that of Asif’s. (Author Unknown, 2007) A judicial commission was formed up instantly by the PCB which relieved both the cricketers of their misery and overturned the ban. He was free to represent his country yet again. In a year’s time, he ended up being at the wrong end of another controversy when he hit Asif with a bat in rage in the ICC World Twenty20 Championship. He was sent back home from South Africa, much to everyone’s happiness. The fans called for his head and were furious with his antics. He was publicly stated as a psychiatrist patient by the PCB Chairman, Nasim Ashraf and that he needed to get his act right before stepping into a cricket field. Everyone was against his behavior and the whole Pakistani public had one thing or the other to say, more of it against his personality and mental attitude. The media played up the whole issue out of far stretched proportions and he was shown as a ‘mad man’ on national television. Eventually he was banned for a few matches, paid a heavy fine and came back in the team. He was put on 2 years’ probation. This meant that if he does anything detrimental to the game of cricket he would be banned for life and his playing days will be over. He agreed to all the clauses of the probation. Shoaib Akhtar toured India with the Pakistan team and once again, as habit would reign supreme in his case, remained in the media more than on the cricket field. He had tussles with his fellows, spent nights off the hotel room and played a test match in extreme fever. The PCB Chairman got sick of him and told him strictly that he will be shown the door if he did not mend his ways. Eventually he was banned for 5 years, thus ending his relationship with the game in February 2008 on a number of different charges. Ever since the matter remains within the courts of a retired judge who has yet to decide on the appeal made in relation to the 5 year ban. (Briggs, 2008) Shoaib Akhtar has always been the ‘bad boy of Pakistan Cricket’ and the reason as to why he is called as one is also mentioned in the above paragraphs. He has done much harm to his nation than justifying his true cricketing talent. He could have served for Pakistan more had he not been prone to injuries and disciplinary cases. The media has played a significant role at expanding his issues in an exponential manner. Shoaib Akhtar is usually linked up with films and Bollywood more than the game from which he earned his name. As discussed before, he seeks more attention from film stars than the cricket fans. He wants to make a name for his own self within the movies but one should believe that a man who does not pay enough respect to his fellow countrymen would do nothing worthwhile for a country which has an established film industry, indeed one of the world’s biggest film industries of the world. Consequently it would not be wrong here to say that Shoaib Akhtar has been his own enemy at the best of times. He was and still is an automatic selection for the Pakistan Cricket Team yet he has shot himself in his own foot time and again. This has been happening for the last 11 years and one cannot see this coming to an end as long as he is alive. He will continue to be a part of controversies, problems and issues as long as he is attached with the game. On a sad note, the tag of seeking psychiatric treatment would also haunt his personality but as he is, Shoaib Akhtar believes that negative publicity and remaining in the media provides more good points for him than bad. He simply enjoys being a part of the media for all the wrong things that he could attach himself with. He is a trouble maker, a cynic and a basher of the people who govern the game. He has publicly humiliated the ICC and the PCB, the parent bodies which run the game essentially. His statements have contradicted with time and he has said things which he did not feel like saying in the past. He has made friends and enemies alike in a long journey, a journey which started in the year 1997. (Whannel, 2002) He is reported to have had disciplinary issues even before he joined the Pakistan Cricket Team. The role of the Pakistani media is quintessential in his reputation. They have knitted stories which did not exist, dragged issues which did not warrant such longevity and prolonged on matters which demanded a silent angle. In the end, it would be wise to suggest that there is no smoke without fire somewhere. In Shoaib Akhtar’s case, there is a lot of fire, hence the smoke. He has wasted the talent that he immensely possesses. He could have played for Pakistan in his prime years but at the fag end of his career he is engulfed in controversies that are of his own making. The role that media has played is also of a negative one. They have always portrayed him as a person who has an issue against the system, the people at the helm of affairs and more recently so, the cricketers who are more famous than him and rising to unprecedented proportion – namely Shahid Khan Afridi and Mohammad Asif. All said and done, Shoaib Akhtar could have been a better sporting star if he had focused more on his game than the issues off it. Indeed he is famous but what counts is reputation at the end of the day and sadly in his case, he has nothing positive to write home about. Bibliography Author Unknown. (2007). Shoaib sent home after Asif row. BBC Sport, Found Online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6982724.stm BRIGGS, Simon. (2008). Shoaib Akhtar hurt by five-year Pakistan ban. Telegraph, Found Online at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/04/01/ucpaks201.xml COWLEY, Jason. (2005). Sport: Cricket May Be on the Verge of a Summer of Glory Never to Be Repeated. New Statesman, Vol. 134 MARQUSEE, Mike. (2000). Fair Play for Fast Bowlers, Counseling for Umpires. New Statesman, Vol. 129 VEENSTRA, Gerry. (2007). Who the Heck Is Don Bradman? Sport Culture and Social Class in British Columbia, Canada. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 44 WHANNEL, Garry. (2002). Media Sports Stars: Masculinities and Moralities. Routledge Word Count: 2,017 Read More