No Apology

Jwala feels that the ban is not justified under the present circumstances. She sees no reason to tender an apology. “My team is there to support me. I am not at fault.”.

In a surprising decision, the Badminton Association of India's disciplinary committee has recommended a life ban on top Indian doubles shuttler Jwala Gutta for trying to stop some players of her franchise Krrish Delhi Smashers from playing a match against Banga Beats in the IBL.

This follows a controversy over the August 25 tie when Delhi Smashers had threatened to pull out against Banga Beats over the last-minute replacement of injured singles player Hu Yun of Hong Kong with Denmark's Jan Jorgensen. Jwala was then served a 14-day show-cause notice by BAI for her conduct, which also delayed the tie by about an hour.

S Muralidharan, chairman of BAI's disciplinary committee, says it was done at the discretion of the panel and as per the decision of BAI president Akilesh Das Gupta who expects an unconditional apology from Jwala Gutta.

While life bans are common in sports, is this ban justified? Life bans in cricket for betting, on athletes for doping and in other sports for using unparliamentary language or for indiscipline are common. What does Jwala Gutta, who has always been in the news for various reasons both in her personal life and on the official front, feel about this ban?

Jwala was very reluctant to speak to the media or her friends as this is a question relating to her career. Yet, she feels that the ban is not justified under the present circumstances and she sees no reason to tender an apology. “My team is there to support me. I am not at fault.” Incidentally, her coach SM Arif has advised her against tendering an apology (Hans India issue dated October 7).

Meanwhile, her manager continues to talk on her behalf. “We have not got notice about the life ban. It is only through media that we got to know about the ban. One of the reasons behind this could be that Ashwini and Jwala are playing together again. She has her team’s support, proofs to make her point and we are determined not to give any apology. She has acted upon the guidelines of franchisee owners. This kind of ban is not healthy for any sport and she is among very few players who are vocal. She has proof to establish that she was right. She is now travelling to Delhi and would put forward her views and concerns. She has been silent and has not spoken to the media as the team is in Delhi. Once there is clarity about the situation, she will speak to the media.”

As per rules, any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.

On bans and punishment, Rahul Bojja, MD of sports authority of Andhra Pradesh, says that for each offence the punishment depends on the gravity of the situation. “We cannot generalise that bans are justified or that there can be alternative to the punishment. What if he or she is talented, but falls into the trap of cheating .Even if the talent is lost from the country or a good player is lost in a team, cheating cannot be pardonable. The gravity of the punishment should vary. In all cases, ban is surely not justified.” Vasant Kumar Goud, Hyderabad district president, Softball Association of India, says that punishments meted out to professional players have affected regular players.

"For a long time our players had the perception that professional players were immune, no matter what they did, we are not going to do anything because they are professionals.”

Praveen Kumar, advocate of the AP High Court and national cricket and badminton player, says there are those who do not want to play by the rules. In the same way the criminal law is not suspended once a player enters the field of play or when a spectator enters a stadium. The difficulty for us crown prosecutors is deciding when the line has been crossed. To do so, we have to apply the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the Full Code Test, which has two stages: The evidential stage followed by the public interest stage.

Crime can be classified and punished accordingly, feels Praveen. Crimes on the field; crimes in and around the grounds; and hate crime in and around sport.

Bans on players found guilty at disciplinary hearings can have a major impact on a professional player’s career, and if an amateur player is banned from the game, they lose their social as well as their sporting life. That goes some way to answering the question when sport becomes a crime, and that is when a sportsman behaves in a way that is both outside the laws of the game and in a way that would be criminal off the field.

It is not just violence that brings sports into contact with criminal law. Vast sums of money are bet on the results of sports events, and from time to time sportsmen are encouraged to “throw” events in order that betting syndicates can make vast sums of money.

There is ample evidence of sports authorities dealing appropriately with behavior which crosses the line into criminality and with behavior which is close to the line. In many cases there are arguments either way between a prosecution in the criminal courts and a disciplinary hearing within the sport, and arguably what matters is that inappropriate behavior is dealt with robustly and appropriately, says Rahul Bojja.