"THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE" by José Emilio Jozami

Truth remains an urgent necessity in sports. Today, more than ever, it needs to be freed from constraints, inconsistencies, and gray areas that, if left unclarified, only become dark and murky. Sports need definitions, clear rules, and concrete realities to thrive on healthy minds and bodies.

This need begins in childhood. Many boys and girls are pushed too early by coaches, agents, managers, and even their own families, who come to see them as a potential source of financial security. But children's sports should not be born from this kind of pressure. Children should enjoy themselves, have fun, and grow in a competition based on fairness and honesty. It is despicable that there are still unscrupulous coaches or teachers capable of falsifying minors' documents to gain an advantage in amateur competitions, because that's not just breaking a rule: it's wounding the very innocence of childhood.

Competition is essential in sport, but it needs regulations, limits, and clear conditions. That's why there are categories based on age, sex, or weight, depending on the discipline. These divisions are necessary to protect good sportsmanship and preserve fairness. Along the same lines, modern sport also faces complex debates that demand serious and courageous decisions, because we cannot continue to move forward amidst constant ambiguity when physical integrity, competitive justice, and the balance of competition are at stake.

We must also defend a basic principle: matches must be won on the field. Not in boardrooms, not in offices, not amidst files and resolutions that empty the essence of sport of its meaning. When a match is decided by court rulings instead of being resolved on the natural playing field, the sport begins to lose its essence. If a match must be completed, replayed, or restarted, it must be done without losing sight of its spirit. Because, otherwise, the day will come when clubs will no longer seek out sporting stars, but rather legal specialists to win off the field what they couldn't win on it.

This degradation is compounded by other ills that also deeply damage the sport: threats against players, illegal betting, match-fixing, predictable results, tanking, doping, mechanical doping, and multi-ownership structures that raise suspicions and fuel distrust. All of this turns competition into a trap and the spectator into a victim of deception. When victory is pursued through Machiavellian logic rather than honest effort, sport ceases to be an example and begins to corrupt itself.

Even worse is when an athlete loses their humanity. Hatred of the opponent, discrimination based on race, nationality, or religion, disrespect for teammates, referees, or the public are signs of profound degradation. Many learned the values of sport as children, but forgot them as adults, blinded by fame, money, or pride. And that, too, is destructive. Because a professional athlete doesn't just compete: they also become a role model for those who come after them.

That is why we must strive for a sport free from ill intent, corruption, negligence, and conduct that undermines its moral strength. Ethics and integrity are not mere embellishments: they are fundamental principles. If we consider sport a true human right, then we must protect it with responsibility, truth, and a sense of justice. It is also essential to promote peaceful solutions, preventative mediation, and institutions capable of bringing parties together before conflicts escalate and damage something so wholesome and valuable.

Let us ultimately seek a conscious and real truth that improves every sport and dignifies athletes, managers, referees, support staff, sponsors, and fans. Only in this way can sport move away from the ruins that harm it and closer to what it should always represent: truth, justice, and peace.

José Emilio Jozami Delibasich

Lawyer and Journalist. Diploma in Sports Law from Austral University in Argentina. Master’s in Sports Law from ISDE Madrid. Mediation course at the Argentine School of Business. Business School of Harvard University. Yale Law School (USA). International Sports Mediator certified by IEMEDEP Madrid. Former Civil and Commercial Judge and former Member of the AFA Disciplinary Tribunal. University Professor. Member of the Latam Human Rights Network. FIFA Mediator.