Probity and the role model

Take from a man his reputation for probity, and the more shrewd and clever he is, the more hated and mistrusted he becomes.

-          Marcus Tullius Cicero

Recognized probity is the surest of all oaths.

-          Suzanne Curchod

The wave of mass hysteria that has accompanied the ball tampering incident in South Africa in which Australian cricketers Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were involved should, ideally demand puzzling facial expressions from people, who regularly follow cricket.

“What’s new? Everyone has been doing it for ages.”

Of course! Everyone has indeed been doing it for ages. Ever since we started following cricket, ball tampering is part of the game...a ‘mistake’ and not such an unpardonable ‘crime’. The International Cricket Council, in its ‘Laws of cricket’ also does not elevate ball tampering to such an unpardonable offence, going by the penalties that follow. It’s there, perhaps, will be there, but why is this meriting such maddening coverage with two batting icons getting period bans and even the Prime Minister of Australia wading into this?

Yes, of course, top guys are involved. But, the difference lies in ‘committing a mistake’ and ‘planning to commit a mistake’. When you commit a mistake, it is considered forgivable, though it is an offence.

Take school, college.

“I am sorry, I copied in the exam”

But when you ‘plan’ to copy in an exam, the magnitude of the offence is altogether different. More so, when you are a role model for other fellow students.

The ‘planning to commit a crime’ changes the outlook of the viewer of the crime. 

The person who committed the crime – Cameron Bancroft - is not so much the person in the line of public scorn as he is a greenhorn - they are expected to be naive and there are pardons reserved for them. In fact there are voices that he was made to commit the crime by the others. The person who supposedly was the mastermind – David Warner – does not have much public sympathy either way – he, despite being a brilliant batsman, is known to be boorish, has ticked the list of crimes you expect wild cricketers to do; it is like he is expected to ‘commit’ a crime! We have seen numerous run-ins of ‘bad boy’ David Warner with the law – drunken behaviour, bar brawls, physical contact, sledging et al - that this does not matter.

Which leaves us with the third and most important guy in the picture – Steve Smith. He is does have the typical ‘Ugly Aussie’ image, but is not in the same ‘exalted’ (pun intended, of course!) place as his mate, Warner. He has the highest batting average among living cricketers and the highest ever since Donald Bradman. Whatever he touches turns to gold. More often than not, he performs even when the team is not doing well. Captain of the Australian cricket team and aged just 28 years, everything was going for him. Young cricketers, children – he is one of the icons they all look up to. One could not help but feel sorry as he was escorted by the South African police at the Johannesburg Airport for a plane to Australia, to cries of ‘cheat’ – like a criminal.

So, a role model is expected to be just that – you cannot afford to keep a foot wrong; if you do, you are shamed more than what a regular offender would be. The need for probity in public life weighs all the more when you are famous, a role model, a person others look up to.

It shatters a person who looks up to someone, when the latter is not what he made out to be. Role models are supposed to be inspiring. They are looked up to by many, as the others seek to achieve what their role models did. In many homes, they occupy such price of place as the family reserves for one of their own. Many a time, you cannot replace a role model.

Ever since school and into my teens, my role model in sport was the Indian cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin. The unique magic he brought on to the batting arena coupled with his soft spoken nature and ethics – one of the few batsmen who would walk even without appeals if he knew he was out – endeared him to me. So, I was gutted when he was involved in the match fixing scandal. I felt really bad for having been a huge fan, a support of this person for long. He is not in on that pedestal any more.

In many ways, role models form part of your lives. We grieve more profoundly for people who have been part of our lives. Yes, none of us is black or white; we all have shades of grey. But the role models are not supposed to be cheats in the eyes of their unforgiving followers.

When a role model does something that is not expected of him to do, he loses public sympathy, is left without friends, is target of anger and more importantly, falls from grace. Life is not the same anymore. So the temptation to commit a mistake should not be yielded to. You will be labelled a cheat for life. There is simply no room for error on that account. 

Low levels of ethics are a given in public life, so much so, that the phrase ‘probity in public life’ almost sounds like an oxymoron. But, it still holds good for role models, people who are looked up to. They don’t have the luxury of committing mistakes and getting on with life expecting the same levels of adulation. It is very difficult to rebuild trust.

“Sorry, it was an error in judgement....” No apologies cut the ice, you are tainted. You are a fallen hero; you stay fallen.

Becoming famous is easier; staying famous is not.