DearReaders,ForumisacolumnthatprovidesaspaceforvaryingperspectivesoncontemporaryChinesesociety.Weinviteyoutosubmitpersonalviewpointsonpastandcurrenttopics(ineitherEnglishorChinese).PleaseprovideyournameandaddressalongwithyourcommentsAtthe1992BarcelonaOlympics,NBAlegendMichaelJordandrapedhimselfintheU.S.flagtoobscuretheteam鈥檚officialsponsor,Reebok,becausehewasendorsedbyitsrival,Nike.Recently,asimilarscenetookplaceatthe2018AsianGamesinJakarta,Indonesia.SunYang,China鈥檚flamboyantchampionswimmer,hadtochoosebetweenAnta,theChinesedelegation鈥檚officialsponsor,andhisownsponsor361掳.AfterwinningtheMen鈥檚800MFreestylerace,Sunchosehispersonalsponsorandcameoutforthemedalceremonyinthebrightyellowcolorsofthebrand.Laterintheevening,duringtheceremonyfortheMen鈥檚4x200MFreestyleRelay,inwhichChinafinishedsecond,SunworetheofficialuniformbutcovereduphiswhitejerseywiththeChineseflag.ChinesesportsweargiantAntaissuedastatement,sayingithadcreatedanawardwinningoutfitfortheChinesedelegationthatrepresentedthespiritualforceofChineseathletesandthataccordingtothecontract,theymust鈥渨eartheofficialaward-winninguniformswhentheystepontothepodium.鈥漈hestatementthencondemnedSun鈥檚decisiontopromotethe361掳brand鈥攐neofAnta鈥檚maincompetitors鈥攁splacingpersonalinterestsabovenationalinterests.ThecontroversysurroundingSun鈥檚choiceinsportswearhassincebecomeahottopicinChina.Someaccusehimoflackingrespectforrulesanddiscipline,whileothersbelievethereisstillalackofclearguidanceonhowtodealwiththesesituations.ClearrulesneededZhaoHei(TheBeijingNews):Lookingbackatalloftheevents,wecan鈥檛blameSunforhislackofcontractualspirit.ThereisacontractbetweenSun鈥檚delegationandAnta,butSunalsohasacontractwith361掳.Therefore,whileAntacomplainsaboutSun,361掳ispleasedwithhisbehavior.Thebiggestheadachesurroundingthisissueishowtoexplicitlystipulatewhenasportsstarattachedtoacertainorganizationmustweartheoutfitofferedbythatorganization鈥檚sponsor.Ipersonallydon鈥檛agreewithSun鈥檚behavioraftertheMen鈥檚800MFreestylecompetition.AlthoughAntamaynothavesignedanagreementwitheverymemberoftheChineseswimmingteam,itexpectstheteamtocompelathletestowearitsuniformthroughadministrativemeans.Sun鈥檚teamshouldknowclearlythatwearingaward-winningoutfitsprovidedbytheteam鈥檚sponsorisarule.Thisshouldbeanunderstoodagreement.SincenomemberoftheChinesedelegationaskedquestionsaboutwhattowear,thisshouldbeseenastacitconsent.Recently,therehavebeenconflictsbetweenathletes鈥檖ersonalsponsorsandteamsponsors,andtherewillbemoreinthefuture.Howtotacklethisissuethroughmarketrulesisabigquestionmarkforallsidesinvolved.RanYu(theory.gmw.cn):Sun鈥檚awardwinningtracksuitcontroversyhassetthemediaablazesinceithappened.Despitevaryingopinions,atleastsomeconsensushasbeenreached:Itwasanactualviolation.Thedebatenowisonwhetherheshouldbeaccusedof鈥減lacingpersonalinterestsovernationalinterests鈥漚sAntaclaimed,andifitisanexampleofviolatingrulessincetheaward-winningoutfitrepresentstheidentityandimageofthecountry.Objectivelyspeaking,thedetractors鈥檙hetorichasgonealittletoofarandofftopic,sincethisisinessenceaverysimplematter.Respectforthespiritofacontractandforsponsorsisanimportantprerequisiteforcompetitivesportsinseekingmarketization.Contract-basedorpractice-based,AntaenjoystheexclusivesponsorshipoftheChinesedelegationattheAsianGames.Therefore,itisnaturalthatAntawantstosafeguarditslegitimaterights.However,therhetoricshouldbedealtwithinamorerationalmanner,sinceitis,strictlyspeaking,justacommercialmatter.OnethingtomakeclearisthatthiscontroversyindicatesaviolationcommittednotdirectlybySun,butaviolationofagreementbetweenTeamChinaandAnta.Therearedoubtsastowhethertheseagreementsareoralorwrittenagreements,laidoutasregulationsorcarriedoutaspartoftraditionalpractices.Foralongtime,thecommercialdevelopmentoftheChineseOlympicCommittee,theInternationalOlympicCommitteeandindividualathleteshaverepeatedlycontradictedeachother.Everythingcanbeboileddowntobadmanagementandalackofprofessionalismwithinthesportssystem.Anobviousproblemisthatnationalteamsoreventdelegationsoftenhaveagroupsponsorshipcontract,buttheycannoteffectivelyensurethestarathletesontheteamwillcomplywiththecommercialcontractsignedbytheteam.Athletesthereforerepeatedlychallengethecontractedteamendorsements,whichresultsinlossesforbothsides:Thecommercialvalueofstarathletesisfrequentlyquestionedandthemarket-orientedreformofrelatedprojectsfacesgreaterbarriers.Againstsuchabackdropofdeepeningreformandmarketizationincompetitivesports,therearestillmanyambiguitiesastocommercialtermsandspecificrules.Inmostcases,peopleonlyseethesweetsmilesonstagebutnotthebitterentanglementsbehindthescenes.Hopefully,thiscontroversywillserveasaturningpointtowardmorestandardizedregulationsinthecommercialactivitiesofsportsteamsandamoretransparentmechanismofinterestdistribution.
LISHIGONG
NationalinterestsfirstDongXiaomai(sports.qq):AfterSunreceivedcriticismforwearinga361掳outfitonthepodium,heshouldhavereflectedonhisbehaviorandtriedtocorrectit.However,itseemedtobeapremeditatedploytocoveruphisdelegation鈥檚uniformwiththeChineseflagtoconcealtheAntalogoduringalaterpodiumvisit.TheChinesedelegationcompetedattheAsianGamesonbehalfofChina,butsomemembersturnedablindeyetobasicrules,includingcredibility.Sun,whohaswonseveralgoldmedalsattheAsianGames,behavedashepleasedbecauseofhisoutstandingperformance.Hisachievementsarethemostimportantbargainingchipwithhisteam,thedelegationandeventheGeneralAdministrationofSportofChina.Inthefaceofsuchapowerfulsportsstar,eventheauthoritieshavetobend.Towearthesameaward-winninguniformsisabasiccodeofconductforgroupssuchassportsteamsthatcompeteforacountryontheinternationalstage.InWorldCupfootballmatchesorOlympicbasketballmatches,individualathletesareallowedtochooseshoesthatrepresenttheirpersonalsponsors,butintermsoftracksuits,theymustweartheteamoutfit.Theseuniformsareusuallyprovidedbyofficialsponsors.AsfortheChinesesportsdelegation,thereisanagreementofsponsorshipbetweenAntaandtheChineseOlympicCommittee,whichdemandsadherence.Asforthesidewhoselegitimaterightswerebreached,AntahastherighttoturntotheChinesedelegationforprotectionandaskforcommitmenttothespiritofthecontract.ItseemsthataslongasSunkeepswinningmedalsforthecountry,hewillalwaysbeahero.Forsomanyyears,whethertheOlympics,AsianGamesoralmostanyothersportscompetition,themostimportantthinghasbeentowinmedals.Anathlete鈥檚senseofdisciplineorrulesdoesn鈥檛seemasimportantwhencomparedtomedals.MaYuecheng(baijiahao.baidu):Whateverreasonthereis,standingatopapodiumonbehalfofChinabutnotwearingaTeamChinaofficially-sponsoreduniformisasevereviolationofnormsandregulations.Itsendsaworrisomemessage.WhywashetheonlyoneoutofalltheChineseathletesattheAsianGameswhowore361掳outfits?Itwasacleartramplingoftherulesandabadprecedentwheremoneytriumphsovereverythinganditshouldnotbeallowedtospreadanyfurther.SuniscertainlynottheonlyonewithasponsorfromtheChinesedelegationorintheworld,butthereishardlyanyonewhocouldparallelhimwithsuchanactincompleteviolationofrules,noworinthepast.Thedresscodeonsuchanimportantoccasioncannevergivewaytoathletes鈥檖ersonalpreferencesorhabitspickedupduringregulartraining.CopyeditedbyRebecaToledo