In light of the abuse and criticism and abuse that athletes have received after underperforming at various sporting events and more recently the Tokyo Olympics, President of Singapore, Halimah Yacob has spoken up against the hatred and criticism.
Here is what she said:
“I feel sad looking at how unkind we can be towards each other. One moment, we carry people to the highest pedestal with our words, yet the next moment we thrash them to the ground just because they fail to live up to our expectations.
Yet, many a time, we would ask for dispensation for ourselves if we did not achieve something which others expect of us. We argue that we are only human but we don’t apply the same yardstick to others.
So, we see that happening in sports. When England lost to Italy in the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship match, some of the most hateful and racist comments were hurled against three players on the team. When Naomi Osaka, the four-time tennis Grand Slam winner was defeated by Vondrousova from the Czech Republic in the third round of the Tokyo Olympic Games, abuses against her reached a peak.
At home, Joseph Schooling, who won a gold in the 2016 Olympic Games, did not qualify for the semi-finals of the 100m swimming event in the Tokyo Olympics. That was the start of negative, hurtful comments against him. We forgot that he had helped us to win an Olympic gold medal and brought glory to our own sports history.
We have to appreciate the tremendous sacrifices and stress that our athletes have to undergo. And the Olympics is not a walk in the park. They are competing against some of the world’s best athletes but they still tried their best. The least that we can do is to appreciate their effort and continue to encourage and support them.
I’m glad that there are still many Singaporeans who do just that, and I thank them.
We talk incessantly about building a gracious, compassionate and caring society because we believe that a society thrives not just on economic growth alone.
It’s easy to articulate these values, but a lot more difficult to practise it. We will be tested ever so often, like in this instance.
So let’s be kind. Support our athletes wholeheartedly. They are doing their best.”
Image source: unsplash.com and Halimah Yacob Facebook