This letter is intended to redirect our focus, which in my opinion has become blurred, due to; the almighty dollar, the over inflated ego of professional sports athletes in all major sporting categories and "the win". This coupled with the media frenzy to establish sporting news on a 24/7 basis has caused an eruption of acceptable athlete behavior in which forgiveness is passed out like candy at parade, for behaviors that are unacceptable as a representative of their team and themselves.
I was appalled when it was announced that Tank Johnson would be able to play in the super bowl, given his prior arrests and involvement in criminal activities on a variety of occasions throughout the whole NFL season. Why should a man, if you want to call him that, be rewarded for behavior that endangered his own children, safety of other adults, and upon confrontation of his actions showed no remorse?
Is it so important for a team to win and make that almighty dollar, that the integrity of both the game and the sport itself are compromised? Not to mention the impact on aspiring young adults who place high value on these athletes, and look to them as both role models and heroes? Children are a product of their environment and mimic the actions of adults they hold in high praise.
Carmelo Anthony is another example of a super athlete practically endorsing fight behavior during a NBA basketball game, his actions were not only deplorable but well thought out considering his attack was after the violence had sub-sided not during the heat of violent eruption. To the fans watching the game it appeared as though his initial thought was to steer clear of the unnecessary actions of his teammates, but his ego and the damage of not assisting might be viewed as an act of a coward. A person of his statue should have thought about how his involvement could impact both the fan base and the children who admire him tremendously.
To continue this saga even further and to my utter dismay he was rewarded with a chance to represent the elite of the sport by accepting an alternate position on the NBA all-star team. A fifteen game suspension served for his inhumane behavior was followed by the big piece of cake, it was in my upbringing that you cleaned your plate before you received dessert. The actions of all involved in the decision to extend an invitation of such high statue should be revisited ethics and morals should have overridden the dollar thus setting an example of integrity within the NBA. As for Carmelo the further decision to accept the invitation not only shows his true nature but also belittles his actions against the players his fists struck. In my opinion, his achievements in basketball should be overshadowed by his lack of decent human behavior.
The question we all should be pondering is; what happened to playing a sport just for the love of the game? Do any of the super athletes, owners, and endorsers really have enough integrity to uphold what they know in their in hearts and minds is right or is their head where their wallet is...
