Hearts of millions of Indian fans were broken when India lost the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final on Sunday against Australia. But it also triggered a disturbing wave of cyberbullying directed at the wives of Australian players Travis Head and Glen Maxwell. Maxwell’s wife, Vini Raman, took to social media, urged the bullies to take a “chill pill” and direct the rage to more important issues in the world.

These incidents underscore a profound lack of sportsmanship and the entrenched misogyny within our culture. Sadly, some fans struggle to acknowledge that cricket is fundamentally a game where the better team wins.

This isn’t an isolated occurrence; Indian fans previously targeted Anushka Sharma for Virat Kohli’s poor performance in the early stages of his career. Despite our professed progressiveness, our society’s online conduct depicts an inherent misogyny, which women endure silently. There is also an asymmetry in how male and female athletes’ partners are treated. We don’t see the better halves of female athletes having to endure such trolling or cyber-attacks.

This also indicates the double standards that this society on gender issues. In a world advancing towards gender equality, incidents of cyberbullying lay bare the sharp dissonance between rhetoric and reality. The digital realm, in particular, highlights the journey our society must traverse to give women the respect they deserve.

Failure in sports should serve as an opportunity for reflection and improvement, not as grounds for blame where fans drag players’ families and children into a distressing environment. The essence of sports lies in uniting people, and fostering togetherness.

Using sports as a tool for hate and violence undermines its very spirit and beauty. Let every sport convey a message of unity, steering clear of becoming a vehicle for spreading animosity.