There's no denying that within American culture, athlete's are glorified, they are put on a pedestal. Americans find great pride in having great athletes. We invest so much time, we become too intrigued and consumed by sports that without realizing it, they become a very large part of our lives. Athletes, just like other humans are susceptible to mistakes; however, the real problem arises when they are not held accountable for their actions because of their elevated status within culture. Not only is this an issue, but the biggest problem arises when men and women athletes alike portray predator-like and extremely hostile and aggressive behavior, carrying out offenses such as sexual assault, rape, domestic violence and even murder. It is not uncommon that athletes receive leniency when being sentenced/punished for any of their actions. However, that is not to say our justice system, all franchises and teams are all corrupt. There are exceptions, there are athletes who are justly charged and carry out a full sentence/parol for their behavior.
Within the last couple years, two athletes in particular have stood out to me these athletes being Jameis Winston and Brock Turner. In 2012, Jameis Winston was accused of raping a young woman at an off campus party. In 2015, Brock Turner rapes a young women behind a dumpster. Both men were college athletes. Brock Turner was soon expelled from Stanford and convicted on 5 charges, including sexual assault. However, the troubling parts of this case reside in the media coverage and the leniency that followed Brock's sentence. Brock Turner was found guilty by a jury, and sentenced to only 6 months in jail. However, the most disturbing fact of all being that Brock was released after only serving 3 months in jail. The reasoning behind his early release was that they "didn't want to ruin his life". Media coverage on the case was another thing, most headlines included something such as "Standford Swimmer Accused of Sexual Assault". This posed the question, what does his athletic achievements have to do with his criminal and predatory behavior? There is no question in my mind that his privilege as an athlete had something to do with his poor excuse for a "sentence". However, as for Jameis Winston, his string of criminal activity, has been plagued with minimal punishment. Jameis has been convicted of stealing, screaming sexually offensive expletives, as well as being the main suspect in a rape. Winston was never formally charged in the case; however, he has remained the main suspect. The charge ended in a 950,000 settlement between Florida State University and his alleged victim, Erica Kinsman. Throughout his career at Florida State, Winston's behavior was excused and often covered up not only by his coach, but by the university. For all his offenses, it seemed that a small apology sufficed for the university. That is not to say that Winston was not punished in other minor ways. However, in my opinion, there was a lack of accountability on behalf of the entire Florida State University franchise, that could have prevented criminal behavior.
The final question I pose is: Why do we still remember these men as great athletes? It's almost as though their persona as an athlete often proceeds their criminal behavior. Although I used college athletes as an example within this piece, this is the same for professional and even high school athletes. I believe this is something that we need to reflect on and take into consideration, why do we always excuse poor behavior because of someone's reputation? This does not only hold true for athletes but, a privileged or idolized group in society. We need to hold everyone accountable for their behavior, we cannot excuse it solely because it could "ruin their career" or "ruin their life". We need to remember that in some cases (such as sexual assault, rape, and violence) these people have ruined someone else's life, putting them through unimaginable experiences and trauma. We need to hold them accountable and forget about their prior identity as an athlete; that becomes irrelevant the second they choose to commit such acts.
Disclaimer: To clarify, this is not to say that only athletes commit crimes, and that athletes are the only ones who should be held accountable, all people should be held accountable for any crimes they commit. My reason for writing this article is to bring light to the stigma that athletes can do no wrong, and that athletes are commonly considered an "athlete" first and a "suspect" or "criminal" second.
