Sportsmen and women behaving badly

The newspapers are full of athletes behaving badly. Every page, every news bulletin, every radio report.

I’m not an avid sports follower, I’m the first to admit. For this piece I won’t name names, (I can’t remember them) BUT I CAN recall the events and will do so.

The problem is that Australia thinks people who participate in elite sports are heroes. They are good at what they do, but that is all. They are not heroes, Heroes are people who do things in times of need to save someone or something. Not getting paid to play sport.

In the last couple of months, we’ve seen (no gender bias) adults acting like goats in front of cameras, bashing people, getting rolling drunk, killing children. raping children, public brawls, lie, get involved with drugs and criminals. Need I go on?

The whole problem is …………. There are NO consequences for their actions. An elite sportsperson can do as they please, when they please and they risk nothing. They are not at risk of losing their job, (unlike average Joe) These matters rarely go before the courts, the club makes sure of this. The police even seem to have a hand in helping smooth over the situation. Yet if average Joe did any of the this, he’d be trussed up like the Christmas turkey and in the Remand Centre Lock-up before you could say ……….. He didn’t mean it.

People need to realise that every action has a reaction, the problem is that for an elite sportsperson, there is no reaction, as people will crawl over broken glass to help the ‘hero’ of the track or field.

Definition of ‘Hero’ ( thanks to Princeton)
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength; "RAF pilots were the heroes of the Battle of Britain"
The principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem
champion: someone who fights for a cause
(classical mythology) a being of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits; often the offspring of a mortal and a god

Definition of ‘Hero Worship’ (thanks to Princeton)
idolize: love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess; venerate as an idol; "Many teenagers idolized the Beatles"

The problem is that the media encourage the ‘hero’ tag. Sports men and women ARE NOT heroes, they are the centre of a ‘hero worshipping’ scam, nothing more

Real heroes, fight for the fallen, fight for what is right, They don’t kick or hit a ball around a field, nor use two feet to run a track a speed. Real heroes do things quietly and without the need for recognition.

Just remember that next time you see an article in the paper about sportsmen and women behaving badly – THEY ARE NOT HEROES, Only good in their chosen field. Like so many cooks, cleaners, mechanics, even book keepers and cabinet makers!