Whoever said that the more things change, the more they remain the same, was spot on.

Did Hockey India chief Mattoo expect players to play dead, asks Ferreira

Whoever said that the more things change, the more they remain the same, was spot on. The Indian hockey team, to a man, is up in arms at the treatment they are getting from the Pooh Bahs in charge of the national sport. At the root of the problem is money, that magical concept the Phoenicians unleashed on a world accustomed till then to getting rewards in cattle and other livestock.

It's not that the boys are not getting enough the trouble is that they are not getting anything at all. Period.

There comes a point when any self-respecting person says, to hell with this, I'm outta here. That point was reached on Friday when the team, fed up to the tonsils with the lack of response to letters written to Hockey India, downed sticks and declared that that they would not continue their training for the World Cup till the issues were satisfactorily resolved.

Poor timing
The timing could not be more critical as the World Cup is slated for February and the Asian and Commonwealth Games later this year. It is so easy for the authorities to sit back and pontificate that as players, their job is to play and not to raise issues, however legitimate those may be. "They are national players. They cannot threaten us," said Hockey India President A K Mattoo. Leave aside the question of how asking for legitimate dues amounts to a threat, what does Mattoo expect the boys to do? Lie down like whipped curs and play dead just because the President says so? "Whatever is genuine shall be provided. I am not aware of what they are getting, what they are expecting, from where it is to be paid, and how," was the other extraordinary statement that came from the head of the body in charge of hockey affairs in India.

Gosh 'n tarnation! I thought that the President should have had at least a little more hands-on approach, especially when Hockey India was formed specifically to right the wrongs committed by the erstwhile IHF headed by former top cop K P S Gill.

National assets
Not having even a passing knowledge of what the players were getting up until Hockey India was formed is, in my personal opinion, close to dereliction of duty. The players are national assets, not an unfortunate nuisance to be tolerated while more pressing matters are being attended to. They are the reason for the existence of the governing body, for Pete's sake, not the other way around. This reminds me of the true-life story of the top honcho of a private airline who has the reputation of hating the pilots who keep his airline going!! It is a fact that Sahara has paid out a large sum of money to Hockey India.

Unless one actually sees the relevant contract, the actual amount can only be in the realm of speculation, but one can safely assumed it is substantial. Does the President know what are the rights and obligations of the respective parties under the agreement? Are the players to be paid for the use of the Sahara logo, like the cricketers? Surely when negotiating the agreement, the players' financial interests must have been taken into account? If not, why not? Sahara Shri Subrato Roy is a generous and understanding man and if the agreement is not player-friendly, I believe he would consider a plea to make it so. Has such an attempt been made and if not, why not? Let's have some facts here.

Meanwhile, a dictatorial attitude on the part of Hockey India is unacceptable to any genuine lover of sport. The country needs the players to be happy and reassured they have not been forgotten. All they want is what they were getting during the IHF regime and now for the administration to consider contracts and graded salaries.

Considering that the end of a player's career is just an unfortunate injury or accident away, is that too much to ask? If the answer is 'where is the money going to come from?' let's do the equivalent of an RTI and examine the Sahara contract first. Then go out to the market place and look out for other sponsors to fill the gap. But meanwhile pay up what is due and smile.