The New York Times today has published yet another article accusing yet another Major League Baseball great of using performance enhancing drugs, scandalous I know. The horror, the outrage! "Not only has he let his team down, he's supposed to be a role model for children…blah blah blah."
There is scandal in every popular and publicized sport.
Tennis had the temper and media abuse of John McEnroe
Wrestling has its wide steroid scandal, and then the "Roid-Rage" murder suicides and speculations of its own people, such as Chris Benoit.
The NFL has had dog fighting scandals involving Michael Vick, had drunken driving homicides swept under the rug by Donte Stallworth, had children out of wedlock by Tom Brady.
Soccer has had the fan bedlam and extra marital affairs of David Beckham.
Boxing had Mike Tyson.
Olympic gymnasts had the "are-they-or-aren't-they" of legal age scandal in China.
Hell, even figure skating had Tanya Harding.
We put these people, these athletes, on pedestals, raising them beyond human expectations. We pay them exorbitant amounts of money, when most of them came from nothing, and then expect them to be flawless as human beings. Expect their talents in theirs jobs to carry over into their personal lives. It’s a far fall from atop those pedestals.
What our children need as role models are real people. They need realistic ideals that not everyone is perfect, but that imperfections are what make people special and different. They need to know that striving to be the best is ok, but not always expected of them.
If you want a scandal-less sport to idealize, people to look up to, whose antics have yet to grace the covers of our magazines, who have yet been fodder for tabloids, I say go with Curling.
There is scandal in every popular and publicized sport.
Tennis had the temper and media abuse of John McEnroe
Wrestling has its wide steroid scandal, and then the "Roid-Rage" murder suicides and speculations of its own people, such as Chris Benoit.
The NFL has had dog fighting scandals involving Michael Vick, had drunken driving homicides swept under the rug by Donte Stallworth, had children out of wedlock by Tom Brady.
Soccer has had the fan bedlam and extra marital affairs of David Beckham.
Boxing had Mike Tyson.
Olympic gymnasts had the "are-they-or-aren't-they" of legal age scandal in China.
Hell, even figure skating had Tanya Harding.
We put these people, these athletes, on pedestals, raising them beyond human expectations. We pay them exorbitant amounts of money, when most of them came from nothing, and then expect them to be flawless as human beings. Expect their talents in theirs jobs to carry over into their personal lives. It’s a far fall from atop those pedestals.
What our children need as role models are real people. They need realistic ideals that not everyone is perfect, but that imperfections are what make people special and different. They need to know that striving to be the best is ok, but not always expected of them.
If you want a scandal-less sport to idealize, people to look up to, whose antics have yet to grace the covers of our magazines, who have yet been fodder for tabloids, I say go with Curling.
Sportmen are just ordinary men. Business men use them
ReplyDeleteto earn more money. There is a lot of poetic sadness in those strong and beauty bodies when fall down after having been used.
Sylvia Plath was right when she said "everything in life is writable
about".