Might mean (unverified): Attack the person, not issue.
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We found one dictionary that defines the word play the man and not the ball:

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  1. play the man and not the ball: Wiktionary

Definitions from Wiktionary (play the man and not the ball)

verb:  (sports) To attack an opponent instead of attacking the ball, which is usually being controlled by the attacked player at the time.
verb:  (by extension, idiomatic, colloquial) To object to someone's argument by attacking them or a facet of their personality instead of the argument itself; to make an ad hominem attack.

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