'Singhing' the 'Monkey' Blues
Today is the third test cricket match between India and Australia. The second one, won by Australia in the last nine minutes of the match (who knew cricket could be stressful like that?), unfortunately ended in some drama.
There were calls of bad sportsmanship against Australia. Shocking. They're athletes. And good. That apparently is not in the spirit of the game of cricket. Another complaint, that against bowler Brad Hogg, was that there were swear words flying through the air. Bad stuff.
I'd like to pause here for a second and talk a little about the game of cricket. First, I'm new to it. I never understood it. In fact, I thumbed my nose at it, wondering what in the hell a batter was doing wearing shin guards and a helmet. And the catcher? But I did know about cricket that it has a long history whose culture has evolved over more than a century. I don't claim to be a part of that culture at all. Of respect. Of hard work. Of global gatherings under the sun. And I can understand this "spirit of cricket." Respect for each other and respect for the game, I think, is what it purports. I know. How un-American!
But there was another thing that occurred during the the second test match that was appalling and made me furious. Harbhajan Singh of India called Andrew Symonds of Australia a monkey.This was not the first time that Symonds, the only black player on the Australian team, had been called a monkey. I've heard about a tour the team did last year in India where he was further subject to monkey chants by Indian spectators. Of course India denied that -- until footage of the offending spectators was shown.
Harbhajan Singh
The drama has its roots in things so much deeper than anyone can imagine, but an ill-advised agreement between the teams' captains is a good point for my purposes. Ricky Pontin, the captain of the Australian team, apparently made an agreement with India captain Anil Kumble to keep everything on the field. That is, whatever drama might occur should remain on the field and be dealt with between team members and not the umpires. Because, you know, umpires are there just for fun and what not.
But then Singh slurred. Symonds approached him on the field, and other Australians, including Ponting, joined in. Soon, Ponting was bringing the umpires over. Deal broken. What happened on the field would now most definitely not stay on the field.
Andrew Symonds
India was pissed. "They told on us!" was basically the cry that came from India under the claim of broken on-field deals. "Monkey" isn't a slur in India, after all, and it seems to have been Australia's fault this all got blown out of proportion. India threatened to go home.
I am flabbergasted by the monkey business. People have pilloried Australia for making a big deal of it. But then there's Symonds himself. I've been called some things. I was once told I looked like a little monkey. I was eight. It doesn't matter what age you are, though. That shit hurts. And for Ponting to be criticized for bringing it to the attention of the umpires is ridiculous. Yes, even Australians are complaining.
Clearly, Singh meant to dish out hate and he hit Symonds where he knew it would hurt. Both sides have claimed the other has done all kinds of brutish things in the name of the game: Not walking away after losing a wicket; using foul language; being arrogant. (I might add most of these charges were made against Australia. Funny how few are raising the issue of Singh's little roll on the ground after getting Ponting's wicket when he had only one run.)
I don't care if someone doesn't walk away after they knew they're out. I don't care if someone uses the word bastard. The NBA court has worse language flying about. And I don't care that I'm a new fan of cricket. If you use a racial slur, you should be told about yourself. And if you're in the public light, you should be called out for it. In public.
Fortunately, the team is still in Australia, Perth, and the third test is about to begin, and I'm about to go watch it in HD.
