Can sports remain agnostic to sponsors, or do their conduct, ethics matter?

Given the role of sport in society and the values we look to it for, public sentiment is shifting, expressing concern about the types of advertisers, products and services that are advertised within stadia, aired during sports broadcasts or associated with players, teams and sports events. In India, there has not been an active public debate around the appropriateness of surrogate advertising through brand extensions. Elsewhere, tough questions are being asked about sports sponsorships. In the UK, even though it is legal to offer sports bets and advertise licensed betting services, a debate raged for many years on whether gambling…