As I view the sports landscape, it's not a very nice view. It's not nice for the fans, the athletes, the media and the owners. I can't think of anyone enjoying sports today. There's no lingering aroma of success and enjoyment after winning a game or a championship. We live in a "what have you done for me lately" time. Failure or second place is inexcusable.
What is most disheartening is the negatives are being promoted more than the positives. When it comes to athletes in baseball, the Tony Gwynns, Cal Ripken Juniors, Ken Griffey Juniors and others like them are getting trampled by the actions of a few like Albert Belle and Barry Bonds. In 1996 the consensus is, bad news makes better copy than good news. But, if we forget the good news outnumbers the bad news, then we might as well close up shop as a society. As a society we've allowed the few bad apples to ruin the many good ones. It's even worse when the apple barrel is sports, something that should reflect man's successes rather than his failures. Sports is "so and so won," not "so and so shot his dog."
Today, being a professional athlete is difficult. Forty years ago, the love of the game and the ability to make a decent salary "playing a game" was the athlete's primary motivation. Today, unless they've been schooled in the history of their sport, know the sacrifices athletes before them made and grown up in an environment of social awareness and responsibility, being both an athlete and a regular human being is challenging. One has to know where they came from in order to know where they're going. Most of us have either a clear view or a bright light shining on life's path. But, for athletes, that path is unclear, sometimes totally obscured and constantly changing. One moment they're told they're the greatest, paid unrealistic gobs of money and are worshipped by the masses. The next, they're blasted in the media, booed by the fans and cut from the team and their income. It's fertile ground for paranoia. All teams should have shrinks and all athletes should be required to see them after each game.
Albert Belle, more than any other athlete in recent times, has become a lightning rod in the sports love/hate relationship. Plain and simple, Albert Belle has a personality and anger problem. His long history of recurring anger events, dating back to his college playing days at LSU, confirms that problem. However, the bigger problem is: Do the fans support the athlete at the expense of what's best for the person? I've found in listening to the callers, Belle's ability to hit home runs and help the Cleveland Indians win games colors their defense of his obvious problem. While understandable, it doesn't make it right. Fans say athletes shouldn't be treated differently than you and me, yet they'll accept Belle's behavior of throwing a baseball at a photographer, yelling obscenities at a reporter and a fan and chasing kids in his car. Behavior like that would get you and me fired and charged with assault if we did it in our workplace. Sports and pro athletes don't change the difference between right and wrong.
What are the answers? I don't have them. I can only suggest that they come from within and with better communication. Possible solutions come from separating the person from what they do. The rules of society and civility must apply across the board and not be altered because someone can hit a ball 400 feet. Once fans and society in general communicate that to athletes then those athletes who have trouble understanding that will start to review their actions and the way they conduct themselves. While not all athletes will be able to make all fans happy all the time, a better understanding of themselves and their role in life will ultimately make at least one person happy - themselves.
I'm Ron Barr.