A sorry trend

Fans forgive as long as transgression doesn't affect the game

Athletes have always been perceived as ladies' men. They are the modern version of the strong and silent cowboy. The vision of the star quarterback standing with his arm around the beautiful strawberry-blonde cheerleader is imbedded in our romantic mythology.

Likewise, it's always been understood that, on the road, athletes are tomcats.

Oh yeah, booze and broads -- that was the athletic liturgy. But the playing around used to be framed in a comic, almost antic, fashion. How many knee-slapping tales were told of the handsome hero, who could carouse to the wee hours, stagger back to the hotel with a gorgeous prize, then somehow emerge, sleepless and hungover, only to lead his team to victory? Back in 1970,Jim Bouton may have shocked the more naive fans with his memoir Ball Four, which contained accounts of ballplayers drinking and philandering, but, even then, players' nocturnal hijinks struck more of a fraternity-house chord -- boys will be boys -- unless, of course, you were married to one of the boys.

Obviously, the sex lives of athletes were never quite so benign as the pleasant legends had it. But, still, at some point in recent years, something changed; rakishness turned into ravishment. Hardly a week goes by, it seems, without some pro or college star being hauled up on some brutal charge against a woman. It's risky to try to explain this development simply, but certainly part of this sorry trend can be accounted for by the fact that athletes are now given so much and forgiven so much -- and from so early on -- that they become imbued with a sense of entitlement previously found only among royal princes of the realm. After a while, it's hard to believe that anybody will turn you down. Particularly any woman.

Yet, while there is a lot of bemoaning about athletes' violence toward women, has it affected the popularity of any sport -- especially the NBA, where misconduct of all kinds appears most abundant? Well, when you hear fans complain about sports today, the gripes are about ticket prices . . . and the players don't care that much . . . and they're not loyal to their team . . . and they make too much money -- but never do I hear anybody say, well, I just don't want to go to games anymore because too many of these guys are pigs. In the extreme case of Mike Tyson, his box office appeal seems to have increased since his 1992 rape conviction. Did nasty revelations about Michael Jordan's extra-marital affair affect his popularity?

Sex aside, but still very much on the point, I've always found it instructive that none of Pete Rose's greatest critics ever bring up the discrediting fact that he actually went to jail for cheating on his taxes, defrauding his country. No, all that matters is that he bet on baseball, on the game. In other words, the lesson we keep hearing is that whatever athletes do, no matter how awful, as long as it doesn't involve their sport, it doesn't matter.

In this latest case, much of the speculation has revolved around whether Kobe Bryant's endorsement contracts would be damaged by his admitted adultery or by a possible guilty verdict on the charge of sexual assault. Few have bothered to contemplate if his behavior will have any adverse affect on the NBA's popularity. Evidently, products are more sensitive than fans.

Until we see evidence to the contrary, we can continue to assume that how our pro athletes treat women is simply not germane so long as they treat the games we love with respect and devotion.

Sports Illustrated senior contributing writer Frank Deford is a regular contributor to SI.com and appears each Wednesday on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. He is a longtime correspondent for HBO's Real Sports and his new novel, An American Summer (Sourcebooks Trade), is available at bookstores everywhere.

 

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