Sports people have power to lead and inspire
I FIND it very hard to describe how everything feels right now. Scary and uncertain are words I would use.
Certainly, nothing feels normal right now. Professional sport has been wiped out for the foreseeable future and, for many of us, that is a part of everything feeling so strange.
The concerns for professional sports people right now pale into insignificance compared to the most vulnerable sections of our society.
However, I know many will feel completely lost at this time.
It is often written how professional sports people struggle in retirement. They struggle to find a sense of purpose when the matches and structure of training are no longer there.
They often define themselves by their success on the sports field, and when that contest is taken away, they feel a void in their lives.
That is exactly how many of them will feel right now, with the temporary retirement that the coronavirus has forced upon them.
Telling these people to read a good book and enjoy some time at home is a bit like telling a shopaholic to just enjoy a stroll around the stores without buying anything.
But it is not a time for them to feel sorry for themselves. This is a time for people in sport to use their profiles and platforms to help others.
Many of them will have substantial followings on social media and, while we are all isolated from one another, that medium will be a means to connect us all.
Self-isolation for some is a scary prospect and they will need our support throughout this time.
Sports people have an opportunity during this downtime to help society move forward with them. They can inspire others to stay positive and look out for one another.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville’s wonderful move this week to open up his two hotels in Manchester for NHS staff to stay at free of charge is an example of what can be done.
It is an incredibly generous gesture and shows the wider public that we need to pull together and help others.
Whether big or small, such actions are going to help, as we look to get through whatever the coming weeks may bring.
Entertaining people in arenas is on hold, but this doesn’t mean that professional sports people should sit back and do nothing now.
They must stand up, inspire, and be leaders to help people get through this difficult time.