From gun charges to blood doping, it seems as if professional athletes are getting themselves into trouble more and more often these days. Just take the recent examples of cyclist Michael Rasmussen and NFL players Adam "Pacman" Jones and Michael Vick. They are all individuals who get paid -- the latter two rather handsomely -- to perform the duties of a professional athlete. For these and many other professional athletes however, the realization that they are paid millions of dollars to play sports is not enough incentive to keep them out of the kind of trouble unbecoming of individuals in their position.
Perhaps the only example more infuriating is the recent NBA betting scandal surrounding referee Tim Donaghy, who instead of bringing impartiality and wisdom to games, brought a receipt from his bookmaker.
Professional athletes have an obligation to their team owners, leagues and fans to make sure they are competing fairly and making headlines for their on-the-field accomplishments, not their off-the field bad behavior. Too often athletes forget or even refuse to acknowledge this obligation, believing that if their actions do not directly affect their game day performance, then they are of no concern to anybody but themselves. If their actions do directly affect their game day performance, as is the case with performance-enhancing drugs, athletes in question believe it is acceptable to simply deny they ever took the drugs. Both of these beliefs are fallacies.
Although for every athlete who cheats or breaks the law there exist plenty who do not, these select individuals are nonetheless compromising the integrity of their respective games.
A few years ago, sports analysts and fans felt that such transgressions were not being dealt with seriously enough. Now, commissioners from the big three professional leagues, namely Roger Goodell, David Stern, and Bud Selig, have shown that they are ready and willing to combat misbehavior with severe fines and suspensions. The governing body that regulates the Tour De France, as well as individual team governance, has proven that it will not tolerate doping or steroid use.
Yet, individuals such as Jones, Vick, Rasmussen and countless others have not gotten the message.
I simply cannot understand, nor will I accept the fact that individuals such as Pacman Jones or NBA star Sebastian Telfair need to bring a gun-toting entourage with them everywhere they go. How often must we hear on the news about an NFL or NBA player or a member of his entourage getting into a fight at a strip club? Often these fights end harmlessly enough, but sometimes they do not. Just ask the bouncer paralyzed by a gunshot from a member of Pacman Jones' entourage or the member of Tank Johnson's entourage who was killed near a Chicago bar in 2006.
Johnson, a former defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears, was recently released from his contract after a slew of run-ins with the law that saw him ultimately serve jail time on a federal firearms conviction.
The 2007 Tour de France made many headlines this past month, including the removal from the Tour of not one but two overall leaders amidst allegations of doping and drug use. Did they really think they were not going to get tested -- or that once they did test positive they could simply deny the charges and expect everyone to believe them?
Even once badly behaving athletes are caught with egg on their faces, few prepare to face the music with much humility. In light of his federal indictment on dog-fighting charges, as well as the real possibility that he may never play in the NFL again, Michael Vick told reporters that "everybody still love (sic) Mike Vick." Barry Bonds has brought a similar lack of humility to the cloud of doubt surrounding his record-breaking run at history, attributing the shower of boos he receives at road games to his "talent."
Professional sports across the board need a re-infusion of class. If they need a reminder of how a professional athlete should conduct himself on and off the field, they need only turn to recent baseball Hall of Fame inductees Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn. There is absolutely no reason why more of today's athletes cannot follow the example of these two veteran competitors. Professional athletes are given an opportunity that most Americans could never even dream of; it is time they start to appreciate it.
