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| | Tuesday, February 1 | |||||
| It seems like athletes are making news for all the wrong reasons these days. Recently, Ray Lewis, Rae Carruth, Kevin Stevens, Cecil Collins and John Rocker have each given fans a reason to change their opinion about the way they view athletes and sports in general.
Here's a sampling of what ESPN.com users had to say: My opinion of athletes has not changed because it could hardly have gotten any lower. While most athletes are not felons and some are very giving of their time and are great role-models, more than would be expected abuse their celebrity and wealth and seem to have no moral fiber at all. I haven't paid to go see a live sporting event in years.Bill Melcher West Linn, Ore.
I feel these are isolated incidents which are not related in any way except by coincidence.
What makes me disgusted is the fact that the John Rocker situation has gotten more press than Kevin Stevens, Rae Carruth, Bobby Chouinard, and Ray Lewis combined. How sad is it that this country is more sensitive to political correctness than murder, rape, and drugs. Tom Hoffman Pottstown, Pa.
Athletes are not turning me off because I believe that today's athletes are a reflection of our society at large. In the United States today there is a subculture which glorifies violence and the macho posturing that can lead to violence. Paula Miller Kitty Hawk, N.C.
My comment isn't so much about the state of sports as it is about sport itself. Society is simply reaping what it has sown: we have greedy athletes and even greedier owners both vying to make even more money -- and where is the fan in this equation? Writing off the cost of sports entertainment as a business expense, or dragging little Johnny off to the games, hoping that this will somehow imbue the child with the values necessary to make it as a professional athlete. What's lost in all of this is the simple love of the game: playing because you actually want to and not because there might be a huge payoff at the end of the amateur tunnel. Daniel Chevrier Toronto, Ontario
I have to say that I'm genuinely upset by this latest incident. I feel for the families that just lost a loved one. But I'm also upset with myself for getting emotionally caught up with a team like the Ravens, and their star player, Ray Lewis. Being a lifelong Baltimore resident, perhaps I'm just spoiled by the "Cal Ripken Standard." Rick Schultz Baltimore
Turned off? Haven't athletes always been this way? I was turned off long ago. Daniel Rea Boston
"Hey, it ain't like they killed the President or something ..." That classic statement by Peter Warrick sums up many jocks' view of life. They have been prima donnas all their lives. Hell yeah, I'm turned off.
At this point, the rash of problems with athletes is causing me to lose faith in the athletes themselves, not yet sports. But if the trend continues at this insane pace, that loss of faith may very well transfer over to the world of sports as a whole. Pavel Carr Wheaton, Ill.
It just goes to show that these supreme beings -- as they are portrayed -- are given too many breaks in their life where they feel they are invincible. Can you imagine how many top athletes have not been caught for their crimes? Jesse Sullivan Pittsburg, Calif.
The problem is professional sports is big business; and athletes can pretty much get away with anything. Diane Scherz Norwalk, Ohio
I don't know why America thinks just because you play professional sports, you are above the average person. When are we going to realize, like in life, there are people in this world that are jerks and murder people. Athletes are people, some just happen to murder, abuse drugs, and be racists. I cannot be turned off to sports just for these reasons. If I did, I would have to be turned off to the entire world. Ben Knitts Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Watching SportsCenter is like watching America's Most Wanted. Bryan Jones Stamford, Conn.
We should not be surprised when male athletes are arrested (or, in Rocker's case, say stupid things) because all of their lives they are told that they can do no wrong. These athletes grow up believing that if they get into trouble, their coaches will "bail" them out. What is surprising is when charges against athletes are not dropped due to their famous name. Brenda Riemer Springfield, Mo.
The state of professional sports disgusts me. Athletes think they are untouchable. Since they were 10 years old we have held them to a different standard because they could run faster, jump higher, throw a ball farther and faster than everyone else. We looked the other way. Then we throw millions of dollars at their feet, only to hear how underpaid and underappreciated they are. It is time we as a society say no more. The only way we will do that is to stop attending games, stop buying their jerseys and paraphernalia. Bill Martin Cisne, Ill.
I long for the likes of Walter Payton, Joe Dumars, and Michael Jordan. Those special people still come along, but they are becoming increasingly rare. Shaun Chapman Glencoe, Ill.
It seems that for every great story in sports -- the Kurt Warners,
Lance Armstrongs, and Cris Carters -- there are two or three
Rae Carruths or Ray Lewises, or stories that are not given that much attention, like that of Bobby Chouinard or Kevin Stevens.
For every John Rocker there's a Darrell Green or a David Robinson, good people who are shining examples of character. It's up to parents to make sure their children emulate the saints and not the sinners. The important thing for the leagues to do is get rid of such individuals, not just suspend or fine them but completely ban them. Killers and bigots don't deserve million dollar salaries. Alex Jameson Alexandria, Va.
I think it would be unfair for the public to turn its back on sports as a whole because there are some individuals who feel they can do and say whatever they want. There are plenty of professional athletes who do a lot of good for their communities. Wendy Chill Chicago
Modern athletes are spoiled children inside grown-up bodies. In today's society, children with athletic potential are singled out very early in life and are sheltered and coddled for the remainder of their lives in which they still have "earning potential." Agents, parents, high school coaches and teachers etc. all want a piece of the potential pie and tend to look the other way whenever an athlete makes a mistake. Currently, we are witnessing this first generation of spoiled children become professional athletes and their embarassing behavior off-field is a result of their never having to face any consequences as a child. Thank goodness for a few responsible athletes who have bucked the trend. Ladd Johnson Provo, Utah
Although the actions of these players truly disgust me, it would take a lot more to dampen my love for sports. The players are at fault, not the sports they play.
I am beginning to think that sports needs a one strike and you're out policy. Drugs, arrests, murders. Kids really look up to athletes. What is all of this teaching them?
As bad as John Rocker's comments were, they do not stand in the same league as murderers and druggies. This country was built on free speech, you the media claim that all the time, yet when Rocker uses this same ploy, he is hammered by the politically correct media. Personally, I am not turned off by these offenders, I am turned off to all your biased broadcasting of such stupid and tragic events!
The current state of sports reflects the present state of our society. What athletes do and say is a reflection of a gun-toting, violence-loving, racist society. If we as a country really wanted to change all of this nonsense, we could. But we like our athletes tough, even borderline criminal, so it is really no surprise to me when a few idiots cross the line. Frances H. Jarvis Cambridge, Mass.
With all of the serious problems with athletes these days, it seems silly to mess with John Rocker. Ray Lewis, Rae Carruth, and Kevin Stevens are real criminals. Reggie White, Charles Barkley and Chris Simon, they are real bigots. John Rocker is a man who spoke his mind. In America that is supposed to be a good thing. I guess it is only good when you are ripping Whites, Spanish, and Chinese like the minister of bigotry did. Or when you say on camera "that's why I hate white people" like Barkley did. This society has been catering to the lowest common denominator for as long as I can remember. Freedom of Speech? Just don't be White. Anthony Mando West Orange N.J.
I'm glad that my favorite sport is NASCAR, you never see those guys in the negative news media. Tom Payne Cookeville, Tenn.
I believe that most athletes are decent citizens, but you'll always get some bad apples. Bernd Huss Auckland, New Zealand
I'm tired of arrests, hold-outs, renegotiations, performance enhancing substances, drug abuse and second, third, and tenth chances. I'm sick of reading about sports agents (why are they in the sports news ?), I can't stand seeing athletes take advantage of their success with political or activist forums, and I wish every game prediction wouldn't be packaged with a point spread. I believe that the combination of greed and the lack of education in some of our sports figures today has been the main force behind this excessive, rude, and destructive behavior.
I'm just glad it is not any of the Dallas Cowboys making the arrested page anymore. |  | |||||