Misplaced loyalty - and a school suffers

Richard Dwight

Unlike in those good old years, we now live in an era, where sportsmen with little or no qualms easily switch from one club to another. For this seems to be the accepted done thing in other institutions and segments as well.

This unhealthy attitude and approach, sadly does appear to be gaining ground to be infectious enough, to become habit forming . So much so, that it has even spilled over to the arena of sports in schools, where star players leave their schools, to perform for another.

Disheartening it must be, for the reason that schools take much pain to inculcate and instil the virtue of loyalty, within their students.

This they do by disciplining their charges to honour the school blazer, tie, cap and reverence the college song and anthem. Not forgetting as well other avenues by which the school strives to foster loyalty, which does give credibility to the saying "Once a......yite, always a.....yite".

In instances and situations where a student from one school enters another. It must be ensured that the newcomer undergoes a gestation period of at least two years, in order to have possessive pride and a sense of belonging to his adopted new school.

We are labouring on this, simply because we were made aware during a schools rugby match, that two senior rugby players on being debarred to play for the school on grounds of discipline, joined another school and continued to play.

Thus nullifying the disciplinary action taken against the two players. And the irony of it all was, that when the two schools played each other, the two players in question, played a decisive role in defeating their former school.

We are not casting any aspersions on either school, for the two school heads on mutual consultation, had agreed that the boys continue playing.

The question of divided loyalties and the ensuring embarrassment, could arise amongst impressionable minds, to leave youngsters confused. But then we exist now in an environment, where the terms loyalty and embarrassment has lost its meaning and relevance.

Alas! what a fall loyalty, what a fall.