Sport Celebrities Aren’t Great
I don’t know how I got the celebrity beat at Vox Nova, but for whatever reason I always find what seems to me to be an interesting wrinkle in parts of our pop culture. Over the past few months or so, the world has been buzzing about golfer Tiger Woods. Words like redemption and greatness are thrown around.
I was at a small social gathering several weeks ago, and the topic of Tiger Woods came up. The host pondered whether we should forgive Tiger and forget his indiscretions. I never really felt a personal obligation in that regard. I stated simply that the guy was scum for what he did. I know, little old judgmental me. The host in fact offered that Tiger Woods had opportunities and pressures that more easily facilitated rampant infidelity. After close to a decade of marriage, I know that one doesn’t have to be Tiger Woods to cheat. Having worked in a couple of hotels and driven a taxi cab, I’m well aware of the stuff needed to cheat: the ability to fog a mirror is a good start, but I’m not even sure that’s required. Well, the host acknowledged the low barriers to entry for an aspiring adulterer. He then went on to exhort that one must acknowledge Woods’s greatness on the golf course.
Certainly one is deprived if they don’t have a faculty to appreciate greatness. I will readily concede that at this point in his career, Woods is one of the best ever to have played the game of golf. When he retires, he may even be considered the greatest. And perhaps the eagerness to give the appellation of great wouldn’t bother me so much if we didn’t live in such a romantic culture – to pick a religious example, in traditional circles you’ll commonly hear people claim that all that is good and holy about the church is because of their tribe, and all that is evil and wrong is due to those liberals or modernists. Woods will get his awards someday. He’ll probably be named into the PGA Hall of Fame. (I’m resisting the urge to go off on a tangent on Pete Rose and the baseball hall of fame.) But in the end, golf really isn’t all that important. (Yes, Americans are sports obsessed, but we don’t have riots at soccer matches.) And if in the end, the cultural phenomenon that is Tiger Woods is known more for his one-night stands, serial adultery, and his pathetic defense of his marriage than for his ability to score low in golf, I guess I’m just missing the tragedy. No, Tiger Woods doesn’t owe me anything, but last I checked I didn’t owe the game of golf anything.
Historically we have indeed looked to sport as modeling virtues like perseverance in adversity, hard-work, and discipline. Things have changed. Sports at one time were hobbies. One doesn’t have to look very far to see that there is very little worth modeling in the lives of today’s athletes. More often the mark of a tremendous athlete today is someone that has neglected anything important in one’s life in pursuit of wealth, glory, and fame. Sure there are exceptions. It is true that while Magic Johnson was having numerous sexual partners and getting HIV, his Laker teammate A.C. Green was proudly noting his virginity and his intention to wait until marriage. Then you have seemingly admirable people like Lance Armstrong. He’s widely believed and has been openly accused by leading cyclists of doping. While being treated for testicular cancer, he abandoned his wife and children for Sheryl Crow. He later abandoned his marriage to her. While dated, Sports Illustrated speculated in 1998 that there are more children sired out of wedlock by NBA players than players in the league. Even the Paralympics has had athletes suspended and disqualified for illegal doping. Then there is the case of American football players. Presently the NFL is investigating brain injury and shortened life spans due to those injuries because of the violent collisions. This is on top of the debilitating arthritis and other problems common in retired players. I have a very difficult time seeing any virtue in killing oneself over a game. Perhaps it is time to reclaim the word great.
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“I’m well aware of the stuff needed to cheat: the ability to fog a mirror is a good start…”. I shouldn’t be laughing, but I am. I am kind of glad my boys didn’t become sports celebrities. Not that there was any danger.
Seriously, I agree with you; well said.
Sports and athletes have went down hill since the mid 70’s. I was a sports nut love the game of Baseball, and Football, unfortunately they are no longer games. Athletes feel the need to use drugs to improve there abilities that God gave them just to get that big payday. Sports now is no longer a game, they are all just money making greed machines for the owners and players. Who is to blame for letting sport figures get out of control? The fans, yes the fans you and me we put up with all the bad behavior of the athletes and continue to support the games when the games have not been games for 30 plus years. If nobody paid any attention to sports maybe they would become a game again where players actually loved the game they where playing, and not just doing it for the money. In 1999 after 25 years of being a sports nut, I walked away from all sports not paying any attention at all, if all fans would do this sports would be sports again and not a playground for the self entitled
Robert Smith, a former Minnesota Vikings running back, once said something along the lines that it’s not the business of a professional athlete to be a role model, especially in regards to kids looking up to them. He went on further to say that a child’s role models should be their parents and if a child couldn’t say that, then something was wrong.
Thoughts on that??
Parents are never able to model every trait and behavior they wish their child to possess or emulate. It is everyone’s job to be a model of behavior for others for we all influence people through our actions. Additionally, we don’t stop having role models when we become adults. Everyone has people they admire. The idea of you can do your thing and I will do my thing is not the model of an ideal society. Certainly tolerance is worth cultivating, but it should not displace a willingness to objectively know right from wrong. I think one would be fool to believe that the reduced guilt over foreclosure – something toward which I agree should be reduced – is a product of the disregard elites in our country have had over being square with the debts they’ve created. Admittedly, the bankruptcies in those cases are from LLCs and the like, but the people that benefited handsomely from them while they were in operation never suffered from their failure.
Rob,
I’m not sure I have single quibble with what you said. I still enjoy sports. I enjoy theater and music as well. Achievement certainly has been removed from good character though.
Great achievement should always be recognized. We are both body and soul, and we shouldn’t ignore physical accomplishment (although golf is kinda silly).
I don’t typically think in terms of heroes. I was surprised to see how much the Tiger Woods story bothered my dad. I knew he was a fan, but I didn’t expect him to feel so personally betrayed. So these scandals do have more effect than I realize. I do agree with the earlier statement that we should all be role models.
The Risen Christ tells us, Mercy trumps justice,
I propose a compromise……..
Pete Rose the “player” should be voted in to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Pete Rose the Manager should be banned from Baseball for Life.