Pro Athletes Behaving Badly

Chad Johnson of the American football team Cincinnati Bengals legally changed his last name to Ochocinco, which is Spanish for eight five --the numbers on his jersey. It was one of many stunts he pulled in recent years, which include trying to tip a referee with a dollar bill, during a game, the way he might tip a waiter at a cafe. He donned a poncho and sombrero for a victory dance after scoring a touchdown, according to the New York Times, and otherwise made headlines more for his behavior than his performance.

Each season, Ochocinco spends more money in fines paid to the National Football League (NFL), which governs the sport, than most Americans earn in a year.

In what might be last year's biggest sports news story, professional golfer Tiger Woods lost his wife and his sponsors when the media reported on his many girlfriends. His sponsors cited the change in his public image as grounds for cancelling his sponsorships --you can't stand for honor, integrity, and confidence, when your life publicly falls apart after cheating repeatedly on your wife. But then the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) investigated Tiger Woods, bringing up questions of the league's role in controlling --or punishing-- their players off the field.

Tank Johnson of the 2007 Chicago Bears was investigated by the NFL after he was arrested on several different charges for illegal possession of weapons. His criminal problems do not seem to be the NFL's business any more than Tiger Woods' affairs.

That was also the story of Michael Phelps. Phelps earned many Olympic gold medals in swimming, creating a lot of publicity and earning valuable sponsorships. Then photos went around the internet of him holding a marijuana bong, which changed his image. Several big-name sponsors cancelled his contract, and the USA Swimming Team investigated him and the possible need to impose penalties. It appeared to be a criminal problem --using marijuana is almost always illegal in America-- yet his team and other associations looked into punishing him, too. What right did they have?

They have the same right as the NFL has when they fine Ochocinco for his antics --it is against the NFL's rules to perform a victory dance after scoring a touchdown. Further, it is against wording in many of the players' contracts with the NFL, PGA, NBA (National Basketball Association), and other leagues, to act in ways that reflect poorly on their teams or the league... whether or not the player is on the court or on the street at the time. They all signed various contracts with teams and leagues that promised a standard of conduct and image off the field. Drugs, weapons, and infidelity don't have anything to do with sports, but the leagues are businesses the same as Kellogg';s (cereals), Nike (shoes), and Accenture (business consulting)...

...and professional athletes sign contracts that, explicitly in the text, promise not to draw negative attention to the leagues. It seems unfair at first brush to suffer once in the media, then again in criminal court, and a third time at the hands of their leagues, but professional athletes make many different, explicit promises about their behavior in the games and their image in the media. They should expect to pay for every broken promise the way the rest of us do, with the realization that media attention comes with it.

If they wanted to be rewarded for bad behavior, they should have become actors.

By Norman

Ils sont footballeurs, golfeurs ou encore basketteurs professionnels et leurs comportements hors du terrain ont autant d'importance que leurs performances d'athlètes. (A écouter en V.O. (cliquez sur le fichier MP3) à la fin de l'article. A noter également qu’en passant votre souris sur certains mots, ces derniers apparaissent traduits en surimpression.

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