Hearts of hundreds of thousands of Indian followers have been damaged when India misplaced the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup closing on Sunday in opposition to Australia. But it additionally triggered a disturbing wave of cyberbullying directed on the wives of Australian gamers Travis Head and Glen Maxwell. Maxwell’s spouse, Vini Raman, took to social media, urged the bullies to take a “chill pill” and direct the craze to extra vital points on the planet.

These incidents underscore a profound lack of sportsmanship and the entrenched misogyny inside our tradition. Sadly, some followers battle to acknowledge that cricket is essentially a sport the place the higher staff wins.

This isn’t an remoted prevalence; Indian followers beforehand focused Anushka Sharma for Virat Kohli’s poor efficiency within the early phases of his profession. Despite our professed progressiveness, our society’s on-line conduct depicts an inherent misogyny, which girls endure silently. There can be an asymmetry in how female and male athletes’ companions are handled. We don’t see the higher halves of feminine athletes having to endure such trolling or cyber-attacks.

This additionally signifies the double requirements that this society on gender points. In a world advancing in direction of gender equality, incidents of cyberbullying lay naked the sharp dissonance between rhetoric and actuality. The digital realm, specifically, highlights the journey our society should traverse to present girls the respect they deserve.

Failure in sports activities ought to function a chance for reflection and enchancment, not as grounds for blame the place followers drag gamers’ households and youngsters right into a distressing setting. The essence of sports activities lies in uniting folks, and fostering togetherness.

Using sports activities as a instrument for hate and violence undermines its very spirit and wonder. Let each sport convey a message of unity, steering away from changing into a car for spreading animosity.