Printable View
Following on from the current revelations about Tiger Woods or the England Football team, something was pointed out. As long as they perform and keep winning, the fans would probably forgive any behaviour, no matter how sordid they were.
So how far could someone go, crimes not permitting, before the public would turn?
It depends on location though too. In Boston the have often turned on players for what seem semi-minor incidents compared to what others in other towns commit. I remember the fans turned on Wade Boggs for being accused of an affair. Also Mo Vaughn had a Driving while Intoxicated issue in Florida I believe and the Boston newpapers and then the fans really turned on him. Meanwhile A-Rod was caught cheating on his wife, admitted use of steroids and was generally a self-absorbed diva and most Yankee fans still cheer him. In Football several players have been involved in violent crimes and/or wife-beating and their fans still support them if they play well. Dallas comes to mind as a place where that happened often.
Now the star Quarterback Michael Vick was caught running a dog fighting ring. This proved too much and pretty much most fans turned on him. so there are limits.
The ultimate example of the perversion of the fans is Kobe Bryant, whose market-share in endorsements and Kobe-related clothes and such were always tepid in his early, squeaky-clean years. Then he goes out and rapes someone (allegedly) and overnight, sales of his jersey shot through the roof -- inexplicably, it was women who were most likely to buy his jersey after the rape scandal. So not only did being a rapist not hurt Kobe's career, it actually benefitted him.
Some days I just don't understand humans...
I think unlike the Ben Roethlisberger case most people believed Kobe was just being shook down and that the accuser was very suspect. Ben gives every impression of probably having had two hired goons help him in his rape of a young college girl and having enough lawyers to somehow get out of it. I hope he gets soundly booed and jeered where ever he goes. In the end it is perception. Both got off, but one seemed guilty and the other did not.
I don't know -- I didn't really get the impression that many people were buying Kobe's story. Having said that, he still cheated on his wife and gained a bunch of fans as a result. That seems pretty fucked up to me.
Roethlisberger just doesn't seem able to keep himself out of trouble. He needs to get his shit together before he completely ruins his career and his life.
He gained fans but he also lost fans. He was the heir apparent to Jordon before the rape charges. He lost that title at that point as the NBA & media tried to find another. It was Carter briefly and then King James. I suspect he lost his title simply for wanting to win too much and being willing to try and make a super-team to do it. I don’t really like it myself but the backlash against James seems out of proportion.
If Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick after every visit to a prostitute, I'd want them paid for on top of his wages.
One can make the argument that any action that is detrimental to the team is grounds for immediate termination, and I think that argument should be made, often and decisively. You might hit .330 and be a Golden Glover, but do drugs or get a DUI and your ass is fired on the spot. Period.
I'm not much of a sports fan; I see no reason why elite athletes should be held to any different standards of legal conduct than the rest of us. So my short answer to the OP's question is no. :)
Turn the lot of them into dogfood, they are about on a level with paparazzi. They perform a completely useless function with the side effect of inciting borderline psychotic reactions from 'fans'.
I don't see what marital fidelity has to do with throwing a ball. It's pretty fucking irrelevant. At the end of the day athleticism is ahtleticism despite the moral aspects of a person's character.
Exactly. They don't get awarded bonus goals or an extra few inches on their long jump, just because they've been faithful to their partners and given generously to worthy causes.
Yeah, I don't care much what elite athletes do in their bedrooms; my problem is with turning a blind eye to their criminal activities. Regarding the moral outrage at their bedroom antics, in some ways, it's the public's own fault for holding up athletes as some kind of role model for kids. Sure, use an elite athlete as a role model for working damned hard, persistence, and athletic discipline, but for moral high ground? You're kind of setting yourself up for failure there.