How far do you agree that sport is too closely linked to money these days?

1. 1) Commercialization of sports come at the expense of the true meaning of sports.

1.1. - As sports is closely associated with money, it inevitable compromises sporting values such as sportsmanship, fair-play and determination. - It also comes at the expense of moral ethics, as many athletes’ quest to attain glory involve doping, bribery and many other despicable means. - Example: To achieve lots of money by winning the championship, many disregard the importance of fair-play, breaking the rules which contradicts the true meaning of sports. - This shows that values such as integrity, sportsmanship are thrown aside and forsaken so as to achieve huge sums of prize money, thus eroding the true meaning of sports. - Hence it is evident that sports is too closely linked to money as the commercialization of sports comes at the expense of the true meaning of sports.

2. 2) Commercialization of sports come at the expense of compromising the effectiveness of sports in achieving its true purpose.

2.1. - As sports is increasingly linked with money, the emphasis is now shifted towards winning rather than the process of perfecting the art of sports. - Commercialization of sports has led to growing emphasis on achieving success and breaking new records, as more media attention is devoted to the winners and less to those who try but failed. - Example: The Olympic Games glorify the best athletes in their respective sports, with little recognition given to encourage those who failed. - Fulfillment and success in the sporting arena is defined as winning and nothing less, which corrodes the beauty of sports, and compromise the true purpose of sports, which is to promote determination and acknowledge effort. - As such, it is evident that sports is too closely linked to money as it comes at the expense of compromising the effectiveness of sports in achieving its true purpose.

3. 3) Sports is indeed too closely linked to money as seen from the distractive nature of excessive commercialization which shifts the attention away from sports to individual athletes.

3.1. - The media draws attention away from the celebration of physical excellence and the beauty of the game towards the image of individual athletes. - There is a great deal of commercial hype going on due to the lure of profit. - Example: Endorsement deals for advertisement campaigns and the media scrutiny of the private lives of world-renowned athletes like Tiger Woods create a lot of distraction. - Hence it is evident that sports is too closely linked to money as the commercialization of sports has shifted the focus to the image of individual sportsmen and personal glory rather than the appreciation of what they do.

4. Thesis: I agree that sport is indeed too closely linked to money these days.

5. Counter Argument 1: Sports is not necessarily too closely linked to money as commercialization is necessary and vital to finance and sustain sporting activities.

5.1. - The operation of sporting events involve meticulous planning and efforts, which require a lot of financial backing. - Example: The F1 race, World Cup and other sporting events need billions of dollars to cover their expenditures. - As such, commercialization is acceptable and justifiable to sustain sporting events and for the sporting industry to grow. Hence sports is not too closely linked to money. - However, the money spent is often seen as a wastage. For example, the fuels burnt for the F1 races is a drain on huge financial resources. The money spent seems unnecessary to many. Hence it is evident that sports is too closely linked to money as seen from how these huge expenditures are often unjustified, which also come at the expense of other more important expenditures, such as humanitarian efforts.

6. Counter Argument 2: Sports is not too closely linked to money as money serve as a form of reward under a meritocratic mechanism.

6.1. - Athletes invested a lot of effort, and endured pain, suffering and long hours of training to improve their standards. - These hard work and abilities need to be recognize and this can be done through huge salaries, which create incentives for them to work harder. - Hence sports need not be too closely linked to money as money serves as the motivating factor which has the potential to bring sporting achievements to greater heights. - However, I maintain my original stand that money is still too closely linked to sports. This is because the six digit salaries earned by professional athletes such as footballers cannot be justified. These athletes certainly do not deserve such huge sums of money and are overrated.