Lewc i Prize

8/3/2019 Lewc i Prize

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Is it legal to regulate sports?

-Sushant Mahajan

The Oxford Dictionary defines sport as an activity involving physical exertion and skill

in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment1, even the

dictionary definition says that sport is an activity for entertainment and like all other sources of

entertainment, it is a basis of income for a lot of people and a lot of governments. With this

thought in mind, Governments often aim at regulating sports to make sure there is proper

accountability, the sports resources are properly utilized and there is transparency. This measure

often leads to unwanted interference in the matters of sports and the politics in sports becomes

greater than the sport itself. An important argument that surrounds the regulation of sports is,

Whether or not it is legal to regulate sports?

More than six hundred million people play sports professionally all over the world while

almost all people enjoy sports as a leisure activity. Professor Jack F. Williams has quoted that the

Sports Business Industry in the USA has generated approximately $213 Billion in revenue.2 This

being an estimate of 2006 has grown substantially in the subsequent years. According to a report

by the Indian Express, the Indian Premier League (IPL) was expected to earn Rs. 10,790 Crores

during one of its stint.3Furthermore with the help of the recently concluded India - England

series held in England, the cricket led television advertising revenue is reported to have

surpassed Rs. 2,000 Crores within the first seven months of 2011 the fastest so far.4 This tells

how lucrative the Sports Industry has become during the years. A major concern that emerges

with this rapid commercialization of sports from the point of view of the athletes is, the

exploitation faced by them. This also puts up a lot of questions with regard to Human Rights

violations.In the globalized sports community, athletes are treated as merchandise and often

become victim of human traffickers. With regard to minor athletes, sports can in some cases

amount to child labour and might infringe their right to development and other childrens rights.

This puts a lot of question marks over the regulation of sports. This essay aims at weighing the

1http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sport

2Professor Jack F. Williams, Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, Georgia in The Coming Revenue Revolution in Sports,

Willamette Law Review.3

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/IPL-revenue-up-by-Rs-1-725-cr-set-to-earn-Rs-10-790-cr/433206/4

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/cricketled-tv-ad-revenue-crosses-r2-000cr-mark-in-7-months/821493/1


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pros and cons of the effect of regulation of sports and thinking of a solution which balances all

aspects.

Sports in various countries are regulated with the help of legislations; these legislations

not only restrict the right of individuals at various levels, but also leads to unwanted

governmental interference in the matter of sports. Sports are often regulated by assistance from

sporting federations such as, Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) for

regulation of football worldwide. Similarly each country tends to have its own regulatory

authority such as Hockey India (HI) which regulates hockey in India. The international as well as

domestic regulatory authorities often fall trap to the politics that are existing in the socio-political

scenario. The recent spat between Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation, a parallel

organization to Hockey India, has exposed the various feuds prevailing in the sporting federation

over recognition and power. Though these organisations agreed to merge later but there was a

long time for which there rivalry subsisted and the only individuals suffering here were the

athletes.5

The International Olympic Charter6in its head page goes on to say:-

Olympism is a philosophy of life, which places sport at the service of humankind.

The Charter further goes on to say in its Fundamental Principles that:-

The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of

practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires

mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.7

When this section is read in totality it conveys the message that as there are other rights that a

human being enjoys, such as the right to life and the right to education, in the same way every

individual has a right to practice sport. This right helps a person to practice the sport of his

choice and do so without any discrimination of any kind. Thus regulation of sports leads to the

restriction of a persons right, to exercise his right to practice sport. This right is not only given

5http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_govt-gives-hockey-india-indian-hockey-federation-two-day-ultimatum-to-merge_1553966

6www.olympic.org/Documents/olympic_charter_en.pdf

7Article 4 of Fundamental Principles of Olympism, International Olympic Charter


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in the Olympic Charter but also in other documents. The International Charter of Physical

Education and Sport8 in Article 1.1 says:-

Every human being has a fundamental right of access to physical education and sport,

which are essential for the full development of his personality. The freedom to develop physical,

intellectual and moral powers through physical education and sport must be guaranteed both

within the educational system and in other aspects of social life.

This charter is not only enshrined with the right to sport but further encompasses the fact that the

practice of sport is an essential part of a human beings life and is important for the full

development of his or her personality. Taking this fact into consideration the charter further

gives all individuals the freedom to develop physically through sports.

The International Charter for Physical Education and Sports also highlights that:-

Everyone must have full opportunities, in accordance with his national tradition of sport,

for practising physical education and sport, developing his physical fitness and attaining a level

of achievement in sport which corresponds to his gifts.9

As mentioned earlier the interference of governmental bodies acts as a hindrance in the

satisfying of these provisions. A person might be capable of achieving many high standards in a

particular sport but due to nepotism and favouritism he might not get a chance to represent his

country or due to lack of, or unavailability of adequate facilities, his growth suffers a setback.

Moreover many sporting regulations follow certain codes of conduct for prohibiting the

use of drugs these codes often contain clauses by which the athletes have to disclose their

locations at all times to the regulatory authorities. The recent Whereabouts Clause in the World

Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations raised a lot of questions in the world sporting

scenario. This the athletes felt was an invasion of their right to privacy. The Universal

Declaration of Human Rights says:-

8International Charter of Physical Education and Sport, Adopted by the General Conference at its twentieth session, Paris, November 21 st 1978.

9Article 1.2 of The International Charter for Physical Education and Sport.


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inter-race, or inter-gender. An effective legislation paves a way for a discrimination free practice

of sports.

The Indian Constitution provides the right to enjoyment of life and the right to education,

these rights indirectly lead to the right to sport which is essential for the enjoyment of a dignified

life and also for full development of an individual. Thus the right to practice sport is protected to

some extent and people are free to practice sport of their choice. On the other hand with the

growing commercialization of sports there are a lot of evils that are creeping into it. These evils

range from exploitation of children to increasing discrimination in the field of sports. The only

way to ensure that evils are separated from the sport is through an operative legislation which

aims at curbing all these aspects. Thus regulation of sport is to some extent essential for the well-

functioning of a sport but on the other hand like any other organisation these regulatory

authorities have the tendency of becoming draconian and autocratic.

This is an important question which has to be dealt with and the Draft Bill as proposed by the

sports ministry is a well appreciated step and with proper guidance and through time this Bill

might become a precedent for all other countries and various organisations.