Communications and Media

Sports celebrities are tempted by money, fame, and short-term relationships. Many athletes use whatever inspiration they have to give themselves an edge over their opponents. Sometimes, the lines get blurred between getting ahead and bending the rules. In several cases, athletes have stepped, tripped or ignored the line and have paid dearly for their decisions.

My paper will focus on two well-known athletes who were brought down for their transgressions. It will also cite how Tiger Woods and Marion Jones were treated after their respective scandals broke. The big scandals 10 years ago were the alleged rape of a Colorado woman by Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and the drug tests scandal relating to the U.S. Track and Field Team. Well see the differences in all of these cases.

Athletes are not perfect. They have the same feelings as the rest of us. People put them up on pedestals and give them forums to pontificate their sound judgment and character.

Eldrick Tiger Woods finds himself in the latter category. He was becoming the most honored golfer in history until his extra-marital affairs derailed his career. With numerous women telling the media they had affairs Woods while he was still married to Elin Nordegren, the golfer made matters worse by hiding, giving two quick interviews by hand-picked journalist and reading a prepared statement and answering no questions at a press conference. (Lane 2009)

Woods took his marriage and his two kids, and dumped them. Elin filed for divorce several major companies that withdrew their endorsement deals with Woods, and the golfer himself was subjected to ridicule by late-night talk show hosts. (Lane 2009)

The irony of the last sentence is Talk Show Host David Letterman admitted to engaging in an extra-marital affair with one of his employees and was not vilified. Letterman told his audience during his monologue and did not hide from his troubles. CBS let him keep his job, and the upheld his contract. Letterman was also applauded for being honest about his affair and being blackmailed by the boyfriend of the mistress. (No author provided 2010)

Woods failed to come forward to the police, the public or anyone with his side of the story. He hid for months, spent time on his yacht and refused to provide any info. He did not explain the injuriesdamage he had in a Thanksgiving car crash after arguing with Nordegren.

Woods lost endorsements and millions of dollars as a result. He lost out on four months of golf to take care of his family, but was more of a suspension for morals violations. Fellow golfers are taking shots at him and he will no longer be seen as a family man, which was his image until the sex scandal exploded.

Had Woods taken up Track and Field in 1999 and 2000, he might have won a medal. The United States Olympic Committee was in trouble because of 100 athletes testing positive for banned substances and covering it up. Sprinter Carl Lewis was among the athletes reported to have failed one of those tests. Although Lewis was later cleared of the negative drug test, it left a black mark on the sport and the U.S. Track and Field team specifically.

What was the fallout from this controversy Not much. No athlete was suspended, expelled or forced t hand back the medals they won at the Olympics. Lewis, who won five medals at the 2000 Games, was hailed as a hero. Although there were issues surrounding the tests, the USOC looked bad in not supervising the athletes closer. That said, the committee was not sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee for its lack of response. They were more concerned about the countrys medal count and breaking records than they were for the health and well-being of its athletes. (CBC 2003)

While the 100 athletes were all cleared for their drug tests, it does not justify their actions. The athletes knew what they were (or were not) doing. They should have been held accountable. Woods, meanwhile, has his life torn apart for his inappropriate actions. Yes, those wounds on Woods were self-inflicted, but his off-course cheating is no worse than the on-the-field cheating by the Track and Field athletes. Lewis did not lose endorsement deals or taunted for his role. Woods did because his transgressions were worse than the track and field athletes.

Why would anyone risk their families in pursuit of another partner There are many reasons for this type of behavior, but many researchers believe the reason stems from the male not getting something he wants in the relationship. (Jayson 2009) An American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy study suggests that 15 percent of wives and 25 percent of husbands have experienced extramarital intercourse. (Jayson 2009) While those numbers may not seem high, consider that it works out to one-in-four men and one in six women is not happy in their marriages. (Jayson 2009)

We focused on men behaving badly. Women are as likely to push the envelope to gain an edge over their opponents. Just like the men, women who get caught face the same consequences. Marion Jones spent six months in jail and had her gold medals stripped because she failed drug tests and was later convicted for her involvement in a check fraud scheme in 2007. (Blount 2010). As a result the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voided the victories Jones was involved with and demanded the medals she earned while using performance enhancing drugs (read steroids) during the competition be returned. (Blount 2010)

Jones was treated badly by the public because she lied before a grand jury about her drug trials. Not oncebut TWICEshe lied under oath that she used performance enhancing drugs while competing for the U.S. Track and Field Team. One person calling for sanctions against Jones was U.S. Track and Field Boss Douglas Logan. In a letter to The New York Times, Logan said it would send a bad message to young people giving Jones another chance before her punishment was served. (Klein 2008)

Jones tried using her celebrity to get out of trouble, but it failed because of the severity of the offenses. She used her celebrity to stonewall authority and then refused to come clean over her role in illegal activities. What happened to her was the loss of her five Olympic medals, loss of freedom for six months and the loss of endorsements.

The ploy did not work for Jones in then and it did not work for Woods either. The media stopped focusing on the athletes but as people with faults (criminal faults in her case). Woods is getting treated harsher now because of the fact he played himself off as a family and had the perfect wife and family and was harmless. Jones came off as defiant and unwilling to help.  That is why both athletes suffered an image blow for their actions. Woods received it worse because he was revered by children and adults alike.

Then there is Bryant, the talented basketball player for the Lakers who took a business trip too far. When the Lakers visited Colorado in 2003, Bryant was lambasted for having relations with another woman while still married. Bryant denied the allegations at first and was exonerated after the accuser refused to press charges. He settled a civil case involving the woman, Katelyn Faber after admitting having consensual sex with the woman.

Bryant was not treated as harshly then as Woods is being now. Bryant was not suspended by the NBA or by the Lakers for his one-time, off-court activities. He did not lose endorsements because of his alleged infidelity. He continued playing basketball, winning titles and earning personal and team honors in the process. (Fitzgerald 2008)

Woods was demonized because he engaged in multiple relations while in a committed relationship. His want for other woman ranged from waitresses to porn stars. He felt no remorse or shame for his actions. Woods felt entitled to his actions and needed no justification.

Another reason why Woods are treated harsher than Bryant The answer is television ratings. Tiger playing in a golf tournament means high television ratings. When Woods does not play then TV ratings drop significantly. Bryant is part of a team that can withstand him being out of the lineup, the PGA cannot do likewise with Woods on the sidelines. (Yardbarker 2010)

In conclusion, there are differences in how people are treated when something bad happens. Woods had people wanting him for his services, but was consumed by greed. Jones and Bryant were hurt by their respective troubles, but are thriving today. The USOC now handles drug testing to prevent 2000 from happening again. Adversity shows charactergood and bad.