Tiger Woods

Like most of you, I'm tired of the whole Tiger Woods Meltdown series that apparently has taken the place of Sport Center on ESPN. But I now see that Tiger's actions have started to affect his sponsorship. Although each sponsors maintains that the following decisions were made long before Tiger's indiscretions, I don't buy it. ESPN has reported that Gatorade is dropping the Tiger Woods Focus drink. Of course the company says that the decision was not based on his extra-marital affairs...I don't buy it. Secondly the Swiss watch company Tag Heuer has announced that they will be removing images of Tiger Woods face plates from a series of expensive watches. They too say it had nothing to do with Tigers affair.

To me this Tiger Woods debacle is starting to remind me of the last two seasons of Lost, I did find this stuff to be interesting. I original thought that Tiger would suffer a little bit from his actions, but never this much. This morning on ESPN I saw a graphic that showed Tiger's fan approval rating, starting from 2007. In 07 Tiger had an 83% fan approval rating. One week ago his rating was at 56%. This morning his fan approval rating was 38%!! That's unbelievable. At one point in time this guy had a higher approval rating than President Obama! I also heard that Tiger has not had a prime time ad, meaning one of the many commercials he's featured in, since Nov. 29th!

I'm honestly shocked at the impact that this situation has had on Tiger and his professional career. Although I don't agree with the actions that Tiger took, I do believe that this personal matter shouldn't affect his professional life has much as it has. But than again, he has been portrayed as a perfect family man and husband. Looks like that worked out well Tiger.

Ex-Ref Donaghy appears on "60 Minutes"

An article on ESPN describes the actions of former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, after his "60 Minutes" interview on Sunday night. Donaghy as most of you will remember was the center of controversy after his involvement with gambling was revealed, in regards to NBA games. Donaghy, who was recently freed after a 15 month prison sentence for his part in the gambling scandal, has been on the circuit since his release, trying to mark it a tell-all book. However, Donaghy had his book pulled by the publisher due to liability reasons, and it now appears that he has turned towards other means in order to regain the National spotlight.

His "60 Minute" interview revealed many details that had not previously been released by investigators, or by the NBA, and appear to add a new spin to the controversy. Henry Abbott, writer for ESPN and author of Donaghy sticks with his story, described Donaghy as appearing "vague","combatant", "indignant", and "controversial" in his interview with "60 Minutes" but despite all those ill natured tendencies, Donaghy has stuck with his story. Donaghy claims that he never altered a game in which he wagered, and that he only placed bets based on the biases of other NBA referees. Although Donaghy's book was cancelled he did offer some telling information in his "60 Minute" interview. Making accusations of referee bias and favoritism against some of the top referees in the NBA, including Joey Crawford and Steve Javie.

In my opinion whatever Donaghy does next, the damage has already been done. Although his credibility is low, he still possesses the power to destroy the reputation of NBA officials at a point where the sports popularity is at a near all time high. His unethical decision to wager on the sport in which he worked has given David Stern an extremely large obstacle to overcome. Stern's actions, in regards to officiating, in the next couple of years will determine his legacy as a successful commissioner, and the future success of the NBA.

Reaction to Ethical Issue Presentation: Legarrette Blount

On Monday Dustin gave an Ethical Issue Presentation on Oregon Running Back Legarrette Blounte. I thought he gave a really good presentation on the subject, but just wanted to reflect on a few things that were brought up during the discussion.

My initial reaction to the incident was for Blounte to be suspended indefinitely, that way Head Coach Chip Kelly could discuss his status with the University and NCAA before reaching a decision. When he decided to suspend him for the year I wasn't surprised, because I thought the punishment fit the crime. What Blounte did was inexcusable and Kelly's decision was completely within reason. Of course, Blounte has recently been reinstated by Kelly because he had met certain academic, among other things, requirements. A lot of people found this to be unfair and that Kelly should stick with the punishment he administered the first time. I however tend to agree with Kelly. If Kelly gave Blounte a list of requirements that would get him back on the field, and Blounte met them than why shouldn't he be allowed to compete? I think that some people feel Kelly went soft on Blounte but I believe that the punishment still taught him a valuable lesson and he probably deserves a second chance.

The other issue that I wanted to address is something that came up during the class discussion. I'm not sure who made the point, but someone stated that the University of Oregon should give Blount another chance because suspending him was ruining his future in the NFL. I completely disagree with that idea. As a collegiate athlete your required to behave yourself and stay out of trouble, its not the university's job to do that for you. As an athlete if you can't keep yourself out of trouble its not the university's fault if your draft status takes a hit. The university is their to help make you better as an athlete and a person, but they don't have any responsibility for your future. If I got caught cheating as a student, no one would be demanding the university give me a second chance because they're ruining my future.

In the end I think that Kelly and the University acted appropriately, in both suspending and reinstating Blounte. And I also feel that the its the responsibility of the athlete to keep themselves in a position to play, not the university, in order to compete for a chance at the next level.

Reaction to Ethical Issue: Should the media be allowed into the personal lives of athletes?

On Monday Nick and Shaun gave a presentation on the issue of media intruding into the personal lives of athletes. I thought they did a really good job of educating the class about the issue and providing some very good examples, where the media had effected the lives of professional athletes (Alex Rodriguez, Sean Avery).

When I think about the issue I only see an ethical dilemma, but not a legal issue. Although intruding into the personal lives of athletes seems like a unethical thing to do their is currently no laws to prevent the media from doing so. When an athlete is at a game, or out in public, they're fair game to the media frenzy of paparazzi's. The only legal issue that presents itself is when members of the media break the law in order to get a picture. Things like trespassing, breaking and entering, or harassing. If athletes want their privacy than they probably picked the wrong profession.

I think its unfortunate that the media has the ability, and the right, to intrude into the lives of professional athletes but I believe that its a burden that comes with the territory, so to speak. As long as the public is interested with the lives of athletes the media will continue to poke and prod into their personal lives.

Record Setting Weekend

In a weekend that seemed to be relatively uneventful, except for the 9th inning rally by those damn Yankees, a lot of players managed to earn their place in the record books.

Starting in Tennessee Chris Johnson set the franchise record for rushing yards in a single game with 228. Johnson had TD runs of 89 and 52 yards, while Jags RB Maurice-Jones Drew had TD runs of 79 and 80 yards, and the two combined to set an NFL record for 4 rushing TD of more than 50 yards in one game. The first time in NFL history

Heading further North to Giants Stadium, where the Jets and Dolphins played on Sunday, two more records were broken. My boy Teddy, Ball Game, Ginn Jr. ran his way into the NFL record books with 2 kickoff returns for TD's in the 3rd quarter. Ginn became the first player in NFL history with 2 TD's returns, of any kind, for at least 100 yards. Ginn is also 2nd in NFL history for return yards in a single game with 299. Jason Taylor also set the NFL record for fumble recoveries returned for a TD in a career, with 6.

Back to that Phils and Yankees series. Alex Rodriguez is now tied for the most RBI's in Yankee history, for a single postseason, with 15. Odds are, A rod will break that mark before the series is over. He is also only 4 RBI's behind the MLB record for RBI's in a single postseason, set by Sandy Alomar Jr.in 1997. Two other players have since reached the feet.

I could be missing a few records from the weekend, but those are the ones that I can recall from memory, and by watching Sportcenter this morning. Since we talk about the history of sport in this class, I thought it was fitting to make note of some record setting accomplishments from the weekend.

Ty Cobb

After today's class, which touched on Ty Cobb, I couldn't help but dig a little deeper, and find a few articles on one of the games greatest players (and biggest asses). Dr. Spencer mentioned the recognition that was given to him by ESPN, as SportCentury athlete No. 20, and I was able to find an article on Cobb from ESPN. He was a pain ... but a great pain, was written by Larry Schwartz, it is an article that documents Cobb's career, both on and off the field. It was written for ESPN at the time when Cobb was named SportCentury athlete No. 20.

Schwartz starts his article by saying: "It's difficult to tell which is longer -- the list of records Ty Cobb left shattered when he retired from baseball, or the stories of his nastiness." His article goes on to explain some of the altercations and "black eyes", so to speak, of Cobb's off the field resume. But Schwartz praises Cobb's ability as an on the field player, listing a handful of accomplishments and record setting achievements.

I've always had a respect for Ty Cobb the player, how couldn't you? But I've always had second thoughts about him as a person. However, after reading the article by Schwartz I really understand just how impressive Cobb's on the field achievements were. For those of you who aren't familiar with some of Cobb's accomplishments here they are, courtesy of Larry Schwartz:

• He led the American League in slugging percentage and hits eight times

Steals 6

Runs 5

Triples and RBI 4

Doubles 3

HR once

• Three times he batted above .400 and in one four-year span he averaged .401
• 892 career stolen bases
• Owned the career hit record at 4,191 until Pete Rose (57 years later)
• Cobb won the Triple Crown in 1909
• 1911 Al MVP
• In 1936, in the first balloting for the Hall of Fame, Cobb received the most votes (222 of 226), outpolling Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson.

Cobb's list of accomplishments, in my opinion, is even more impressive than Babe Ruth, who almost everyone believes was the greatest baseball player of that era. Based only on statistics I would have to say that Ty Cobb was a better baseball player than Babe Ruth. Only his behavior on and off the field can be held responsible for the lack of this recognition.

On a final note, Schwartz indicates that after Cobb's passing, in 1961, "only 4 people from baseball attended his funeral." A travesty to a man who contributed so much to the sport, but an action by his teammates and opponents that speak volumes about his behavior as a person.

References:

Schwartz, L. (n.d.). He was a pain ... but a great pain. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014142.html

Jack Johnson

I was on ESPN this morning and happened to stumble upon an article from Outside the Lines. The title quickly caught my attention, Posthumous Pardon sought for Johnson. The Johnson referenced in this case was Jack Johnson. According to Rader, Jack Johnson had been the heavyweight champion between 1908 and 1915(p 147). "Few, if any, blacks were as well known or had infused blacks with greater pride than Jack Johnson (Rader, p 147)." Johnson was a great fighter who was able to break color barriers in the world of boxing and equal rights.

According the the OTL article, written by the AP, "Johnson was convicted in 1913 of violating the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for immoral purposes. He fled the country after his conviction, but agreed years later to return and serve a 10-month jail sentence." Many people believe that Johnson was targeted by authorities because of his success as a black man. His career as a boxer was controversial, and many whites detested his behavior and wealth. His promiscuous relationships with women, white women in particular, are believed to be the reason for his incarceration.

Posthumous Pardon sought for Johnson addresses the issue of a presidential pardon for the heavyweight champion Johnson. In fact, legislation has been in the works since early April on this issue, but the House and Senate are still awaiting word from President Obama. Sen. John McCain has been extremely outspoken on this issue. His interest no likely stems from his involvement in boxing as a young man.

However humanitarian this may seem, I think I understand why President Obama is hesitant to grant Johnson a pardon. Throughout history presidential pardons of the dead have been rare, and in this case I feel like Johnson deserves a pardon. But from President Obama's perspective their is much more than the issue of Johnson reputation. As the first black President, Obama has been under pressure to rewrite history or change the past, when it comes to African Americans. By carefully weighing each side of action, Obama is exploring the residual effects that would result from a pardon. While exonerating Johnson appears to be the right thing to do, I can't help but wonder if Obama is worried about establishing a reputation of sympathetic action towards black Americans in history.

References:

Posthumous pardon sought for Johnson. (2008, October 16). Retrieved October 17, 2009, from http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=4565549

Rader, B. G. (2008). American sports from the age of folk games to the age of televised Sports (6th ed., pp. 147-150). NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.