Talented athletes Emmanuel Adebayor and Serena Williams are no strangers to media attention; however they’ve recently captured such attention not for their skill, but their sportsmanship. They won’t be the first or the last athletes to provide these types of memorable sporting moments. Zinedene Zidane’s infamous World Cup head butt was so shocking it even managed to secure a place in American sports news. And who can forget the flying kicks from Angel Matos in the 2008 Olympics or Frenchman Eric Cantona’s kung fu antics in Man U’s match against Crystal Palace in 1995? The list of athletes guilty of sporting crimes of passion and childish outbursts includes Mike Tyson, Linford Christie, LeBron James, John McEnroe and Terrell Owens to name a few.
It’s hard to believe that any of these athletes stepped onto the pitch or the court with the intention of jeopardising their careers, but I do believe that spectators are under the apprehension that these athletes are supernatural entities and not human beings who manage the same emotions and tolerance levels as many of us mere mortals. Granted, it could be argued that their salaries are reflective of the responsibility that is heaped on their shoulders but I oftentimes sympathise with these sporting heroes when they have a blip.
Some of the comments that footballers, in particular, have to endure match after match might cause the common man to see red. We don’t applaud them when they rise above the abuse, yet are quick to pass judgment when they react impulsively to negative stimuli. It’s been rumoured thatdistateful taunts about Adebayor’s family were ringing in his ears when he chose to celebrate his goal in front of his former fans. He alone knows what provoked him on the day, but his celebration –not his goal – catapulted him into the press.
Referees, who also fall foul of being human, often inadvertently instigate controversial behaviour from athletes. In Serena’s case, it’s hardly surprising that she reacted the way she did. It was a crucial time in a match which was arguably bigger than the eventual final of the US open and the line judge calls a foot fault. One can only imagine that at this stage Serena has probably pushed herself to her full mental, physical and emotional capacity so it’s of little surprise that the controversial call sparked the now infamous on court hissy fit.
Serena’s tirade may have shaken up the line judge a little, but she thankfully managed to refrain from physically abusing the line judge. When former Cuban Taekwondo Angel Matos delivered a kick straight to the face of a defenceless referee at the 2008 Olympic Games he shocked the sporting world. It is believed that Matos’ disappointment at being disqualified from the bronze medal match after taking too much injury time elicited the flare up. Unfortunately for Matos, his behaviour was more than just a colourful expression of his frustration. It was in fact a violent assault that drew blood from an official and abruptly ended his career.
Psychotherapist and author Jay P. Granat, PhD believes that emotional immaturity may be the root of the growing trend of flagrant behaviour in sport. ‘Some of the violence can be attributed to the fact that many athletes have failed to learn how to control their emotions because they have devoted so much of their time to mastering their craft, which is their sport’. Granat has worked with an Olympic Gold Medallist, professional golfers, tennis pros and elite young athletes from many sports and believes that ‘in short, they are physically quite talented, but they are emotionally quite underdeveloped and quite immature’. If Granat’s observations are valid, Wayne Rooney’s childish antics on the pitch could be attributed to the fact that he was thrust into a professional sporting career at a tender age.
Ironically, the same passion that drives some of these athletes to behave so incredulously is the same passion that drives them to devote their lives to their sport. It’s the same passion that focuses them when they are moulding their raw skill into unquestionable talent. It’s the very same passion that transforms a young person with little more than a dream into a national sporting hero. Furthermore, it’s passion that has opened the doors for females to become professional athletes.
Watching an athlete play sports with no passion is like drinking a non-alcoholic beer or a eating a slice of wheat free cake. You can’t help feeling as though you’ve been short changed - passion is what produces unforgettable displays of athleticism. Unsportsmanlike behaviour should never be condoned; however after when putting things into perspective it appears that professional sportspeople may, from time to time, simply be guilty of being dedicated and committed to their craft.
Caster Semenya is reportedly still training and preparing for upcoming competitions. If the likes of Jana Rawlinson felt compelled to modify her natural body shape in favour of a more feminine shape, I say hats off to Caster. It can’t be easy to have the whole world scrutinising you when athletes who are older than you are yielding to conformity.
Speaking of modifications, I didn’t realise until recently that female boxers weren’t allowed to have implants. Sikh and Muslim boxers face restrictions in boxing also, but that is because of their facial hair. The Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) recently ruled that all fighters had to be clean shaven to allow cuts to the face to be seen. It may seem farfetched to draw a comparison between religion and vanity, but some may argue that a woman’s vanity is her religion.
Jack Warner’s Twitter page is pretty interesting - so interesting that I wonder if it really is Mr Warner himself doing the tweeting. Some classic tweets include: ‘Harry [Redknapp] has been charged with "Cheating the public revenue" I think I studied that course at university. Got highest marks of course’ and ‘Joe Hart for England? We'd all do well to remember where he won his first cap. The lovely Trinidad. He is nothing without me.’ Regardless of whether or not the Twitter page is fact or fiction, it is interesting to note that the country where the game of football was created is now at the mercy of someone who is from one of their former colonies with regards to their World Cup 2018 bid.
