
KARACHI:
The existence of dangerous sports — such as boxing, horseracing, auto racing, mountaineering, etc — has triggered a heated debate in many countries. While some people insist on banning life-threatening sports, others believe it is the right of people to choose whatever sporting activity they want. I want to discuss both of these perspectives.
Dangerous sports should be banned not only because they carry the risk of being injured or killed, but also because they encourage violent behaviours in society. Although many safety measures have been introduced to lessen the risk in dangerous games, players still get killed or injured. Thousands of athletes undergo treatment for serious injuries caused by these sports every year. More importantly, a significant percentage of these injuries are long term and even permanent, and could lead to psychological trauma. Furthermore, scientists have proved that exposure to dangerous sports such as wrestling, boxing and car racing could desensitise children to aggressive activities.
On the other hand, the proponents of dangerous sports also have some convincing points. They believe that introduction of such a ban might violate human rights and freedoms. As people are aware of the risk of indulging in dangerous sports, they should be free to choose any sport or activity they find fit for themselves. In addition, almost every sport is potentially dangerous to an extent.
To conclude, there is no doubt that dangerous sports may have some detrimental effects on the health of people. But people cannot be stopped by force from choosing any sport. They should rather be educated on how to keep themselves safe as much as possible, if they don’t want to avoid any particular dangerous sport completely.
M Irfan
Hub
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2021.
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