Well, at least most of them aren't. You could probably make a case for Ray Allen.
We're just days away from the end of the Decade of the Sports Scandal, and big name after big name has been dragged through the mud — Kobe Bryant, Michael Vick, Alex Rodriguez. The latest celebrity downfall has, of course, been that of Tiger Woods, and while it's easy to slander the tabloid headliner of the day and get some cheap press out of a controversial statement, Allen is taking the high road.
The 34-year-old Celtics guard is trying to downplay the scandal — for the good of us all.
"It’s not for us to decide what Tiger should do or what he shouldn’t do," Allen told the Boston Herald this weekend. "It’s a family matter. He didn’t do anything to hurt anybody else. People want to criticize him because of whatever they felt he was or thought he was, but he played golf for a living. You know, he wasn’t in the Catholic church or working with kids in school. He played golf."
Allen is fighting to take down a common misconception in American sports culture: the idea that when a public figure does wrong, his personal life becomes our business. Whether it's a car crash or a messy breakup, whether it's one mistress or a dozen, whatever happens to the world's greatest golfer ends up entering the realm of public discussion.
But why do any of us feel the need to judge Tiger's personal life? It's difficult to make a value judgment on a situation so distant from our daily lives. I don't know Tiger Woods. I don't know his wife Elin, and I don't know anyone else that played a role in the golfer's personal life. Neither do you.
Neither does Ray Allen. That's why he's sticking up for Tiger's right to privacy — because Tiger's personal life is just that. It's personal.
We don't really know Tiger Woods the man as well as we thought we did. We've seen him hit fairways and greens, we've seen him sink clutch putts, we've seen him close out majors on historic Sundays. But off the golf course, we don't know Tiger. Why should we draw inspiration in our personal lives to be like a man we've never met?
"I think we as athletes, we put ourselves in a great light where we inspire people to do great things and push toward their goals," Allen said. "But I play basketball. We all take on the role of being role models, but role models for a kid I think should always be at home with their parents."
He plays basketball.
Bryant plays basketball. Vick plays football. A-Rod plays baseball.
Tiger plays golf.
This is why we look up to these rich, famous, glamorous men. Not for what they do in their own homes in their own lives, but for what they do on the field of play with millions watching. We can respect our sporting heroes for being great players, for showing sportsmanship, for exhibiting class on the field. But that's about it.
Allen himself might be the closest thing we have to a positive role model in sports. He respects his role as a pro athlete, and he respects his fellow athletes as well.
It took courage for Allen to stand up and defend Tiger Woods' privacy. No one in sports has seen his popularity plummet quite like Tiger's over the past month, and few have stuck up for the man in his time of turmoil.
But Ray Allen has sent a clear message: Athletes are human beings, just like you and me. They're not always perfect off the field, but we can still respect what they do on it.
