When sports became professional, their status changed. Those who remained amateur were different from those who made money. And over time the gulf between the haves and the have-nots has grown.
People with pensions, salaries, and holidays talk to those who take time off work, away from their families, and with little recognition about how they can do better. Better, not in the monetary sense but in the metrics of engagement, diversity, and performance. Unsurprisingly, it’s not going well.
Exploiting commercial interests at the same time as nurturing social value in the community is a dance that few get right. If you can’t do the conga I don’t want to watch you try to waltz. It’s time to split the commercial from the social and ensure we do both right.