play the man and not the ball
The phrase "play the man and not the ball" originates from sports and is used metaphorically in arguments to describe attacking the person instead of the issue.
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Definition
B2Sports
(negative, informal)To tackle or attack an opponent instead of focusing on the ball they control.
Example
- In rugby, he was penalized for playing the man and not the ball.
B2Debate
(idiomatic, colloquial, negative)To criticize a person's character or traits rather than addressing their argument.
Example
- During the debate, she played the man and not the ball, attacking his character instead of his policies.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "play the man and not the ball":
play the ball and not the manplay ballplay the anglesplay it straightmake a playplay hardballgrandstand playplay the fieldplay the fooladvance the ballplay to win