Facing The Music
“I’ll just let you know, as it pertains to any punishment … there is, according to NFL rules and union contracts, there is a large difference between allegations and charges and convictions. Until at any point there is a conviction of any type, I have no action to take and nothing to say.”
Mike Tice attempted to defend the integrity and the image of his Minnesota
Vikings, struggling to fend off allegations that there were any wrongdoing by the players the night of October 6th. He answered questions, took the heat, and eventually suffered enough damage that the incident became a major reason for his dismissal as head coach from the team. And while he stuck his neck out and soon felt his head roll across the floor, his players did nothing but stand back and watch. Some even denied being involved, blatantly trying to salvage their image while allowing that of their coach to burn to ashes.
Most of us know the story of the “Love Boat Scandal”. A quick recap is all that’s needed for those who aren’t familiar. Two boats were rented for a party being held by 17 members of the Minnesota Vikings. Reports of prostitutes and public sex acts were made, and the cleaning crew said they had found sex toys, wrappers, and other items. There was a complaint by a lady who said that several large men had peed in her yard just minutes before the players boarded the boats and journeyed off.
You can’t tell me the coincidences are too far fetched.
Even if the players are telling the truth and not a single one of them was involved in the alleged activities on those boats that night, the mere fact that they didn’t realize the situation was volatile to their reputation is amazing. Why wouldn’t they understand that they can’t just jump on a rented boat loaded down with hookers and booze and get away without any speculation?
There is a mystery behind high-profile athletes that I’ll never understand for as long as I live. Maybe I’ve got to put on their cleats to see things as they do. Maybe I have to put on their hat to clearly realize why it’s so difficult to stay in the good light of the public eye. Being someone who has never experienced popularity to the extreme that most of these pro athletes do, my opinion may be somewhat jaded.
But it doesn’t lack common sense.
I get that life is a little more magnified, mostly because every fan of the game is watching each decision you make, both on and off the field. You are somebody they are interested in, someone they are obsessed with. You breathe the life into sports, the pride and joy of so many people around the world. And in order to have the privilege to be in that position, there is a responsibility you need to uphold. Who do you think lines the covers of the video games? Who is seen on all the commercials? Who is on the front cover of the newspaper and many huge magazines? From billboards to cereal boxes, athletes are thrust into everybody else’s life, like it or not.
So why would you get caught with your pants down?
The Love Boat Scandal is a great example of this ridiculous irrationality that some athletes have. The situation could have been avoided but they chose not to, leaving a trail of accusations leading straight to the embarrassment, not just for themselves, but for a coach that lost his job, a league that lost some integrity, and a nation whose world of sports was made to look comedic.
You can’t place all the blame on the shoulders of these 17 men, however. Sports didn’t start in 2005 when their bad choices surfaced for all the world to see. Players have been making terrible decisions throughout the years.
Does the 1919 World Series ring a bell? If not, how about the names Arnold Gandil 
or “Shoeless” Joe Jackson? The Chicago Black Sox committed arguably the biggest no-no in American sports history by throwing the championship of America’s past-time in a ditch attempt to make money off of it. After being convicted in 1920, all eight players involved received life bans from the game.
And when speaking of gambling, Pete Rose’s name sure does seem to come up quite a bit. Another lifetime-banished player, Rose still begs to this day to be allowed back into the game after he bet against his own team.
The list goes on, from Rafael Palmeiro to Ron Artest, Dennis Rodman to Marion Jones. These names will forever be tainted. It’s athletes like this who don’t seem to have figured anything out in terms of what it means to be a professional that is constantly in the spotlight.
Nowadays, the learning curve seems to be even worse. Every week, scandal seems to surface about the most unsuspected names. Whether it’s Roger Clemens facing steroid allegations and personal marriage issues or Marvin Harrison finding himself in hot water regarding gunshots at his bar in Philadelphia, it seems as if no one is safe. Or maybe it’s that no one is willing to put themselves in safety.
The ratio of criminal records to those with clean records in pro sports is on par with most other professions in the United States. It’s hard to fathom because those who are not competing professionally are generally not under the same hot lamp as those who are. But that’s the one thing that many of these athletes don’t get; they don’t fully comprehend that their actions are possibly viewed by millions of people on a daily basis. They don’t have the leeway that other people with other jobs have. It’s not comparable, as much as they wish or think it is.
Growing up is a difficult process for many people. The transition from a kid with little responsibility to becoming a role model that stands head and shoulders tall over a great number of children and teenagers can be a struggle. But everybody has got to face the music. Except with athletes, the music is just a little bit louder.
Tags: athletes, Black Sox, cheating, Chicago, common sense, decision making, Dennis Rodman, Fred Smoot, Love Boat Scandal, Marion Jones, Mike Tice, Minnesota Vikings, MLB, NBA, NFL, olympics, Pete Rose, professional, professional athletes, professionalism, Roger Clemens, Ron Artest, sports
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