The Modern Sports Super Villain

Whether or not athletes have changed their behavior over the years is up for debate. Joe Namath was certainly no better a role model than Tiger Woods or Kobe Bryant, but one thing is certain: the public scrutiny has increased exponentially, and athletes' private lives are now more public than Google stock.

With tabloid culture exposing countless embarrassing stories, a new era of sports super-villains have emerged. Here are a few notable examples:

• Tiger Woods couldn't keep his putter in his pants
• Ben Roethlisberger's bathroom parties
• Brett Favre's weinergate scandal
• Michale Vick's journey from dogfighter to prison bitch
• Kobe Bryant takes a walk on the brown side
• LeBron James abandons his hometown for South Beach glory

Some of these have issued incincere apologies to clear their name, while others have made commercials embracing their role as sport super-villain. What troubles me is the arbitrary nature by which we select who spends the rest of their career as a pariah, and who gets off with a slap on the hand and a standing ovation the following Sunday.

Ray Lewis is a perfect example. I won't waste space by laying out the details, but it seems pretty cut and dry that the Ravens LB killed a man. The trial was publicized, the vast majority of fans know the allegations, and no one seems to care. Donte Stallworth committed vehicular manslaughter and blew a .12 on the scene, and we don't hear anything about it.

Meanwhile, Brett Favre gets ripped apart by fans and media alike for a comparatively pedestrian indiscretion. LeBron James didn't even commit a crime, and he is more hated in Cleveland than most Al-Qaeda terrorists.

If it were a race issue, Ray Lewis would never be celebrated the way he is, and Brett Favre would have been a week-long punchline at most. It seems clear that sexual allegations reign supreme in on the deplorability spectrum, and we all know PETA didn't care too much for Mike Vick's version of a doggy bath, but I can't understand how these men get crucified while Marvin Harrison escapes headlines as he's being investigated for two separate shooting charges.

At least in my opinion, if we are going to shun athletes for their off-the-field shenanigans, we need to be consistent. As far as I'm concerned, I assume that most athletes cheat on their wives, drive drunk, get into fights, harass women, and act like total jackasses on a pretty regular basis. We should look at these guys as entertainers, and admire them for what they can do with a pitching wedge or a football. If you want to live in some kind of fantasy world where athletes are good people, go turn on Remember the Titans. Or you could always just watch Tim Tebow...

-Sam