Penalize star sportsmen for misconduct
By Ben Tate
It has recently come to my attention that Marcus Vick is playing wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins. For anyone who does not follow professional or college football, that statement probably does not mean much, but for an avid football fan like me, this is a shock.
Vick is the former star quarterback of the Virginia Tech Hokies, and during his tenure at Tech, he managed to accumulate quite a record. Vick was arrested and convicted for providing three underage girls with alcohol; charged with, but not convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old girl; arrested for reckless driving and possession of marijuana; and reprimanded for various on-field incidents, including one in which he stomped on the leg of a Louisville defensive end.
Vick was finally dismissed from Virginia Tech after being arrested for driving on a suspended license, to which he responded, "It's not a big deal. I'll just move on to the next level, baby." Two days after declaring his eligibility to enter the NFL draft, he was arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at three teenagers in a McDonald's parking lot. He served a six-month suspended sentence as a result of the incident, and went undrafted in the NFL draft. After the draft, he attended a Miami Dolphins free agent mini-camp, and was subsequently signed for the league's minimum salary.
It is appalling to me, as I'm sure it is to most people, that professional athletes like Marcus Vick are given so many chances and receive such blatant special treatment in light of their poor behavior. Professional sports organizations seem to have a far greater concern for maintaining their bottom line by keeping the talented athletes on the field than they do for sending the right message to the youth.
They punish major offenses with minimal sentences, and then wonder why the same athletes continue to get into trouble with the law. Why should anyone expect these professional athletes to change their behavior when there is barely any consequence for their actions? If anything, the prevalence of lawless behavior among professional athletes is growing, and it is due solely to the fact that the major sports organizations (the NCAA included) have not done nearly enough to reign in the behavior of their athletes through forms of punishment.
Jake Plummer, Jamal Lewis, Michael Irvin and Richie Incognito are just a few examples of professional football players who have been able to continue their careers despite major run-ins with the law. As a result, athletically-gifted children grow up under the impression that their idols are above the law; that with enough talent, you can do whatever you want, and will only receive a slap on the wrist in return.
As long as the NFL and other professional athletic associations perpetuate this kind of negative reinforcement, the Marcus Vicks of the world will continue to make their way up through the ranks of college and professional sports teams with little accountability for their actions.
If professional athletes are going to be held responsible for their behavior, however, it will take more than a change in management style by the organizations. Fans should receive a share of the blame as well.
The general public turns a blind eye to the infractions of their favorite stars, and largely ignores the lack of appropriate disciplinary action by sports governing bodies. In this way, the public allows professional athletes to continue breaking the rules that the rest of society abides by. Athletes don't have to worry about putting their career in jeopardy or spending more than a few months in jail.
Until the court of public opinion expresses its discontent with the behavior and attitudes of players like Marcus Vick, professional sports organizations will continue to do everything in their power to keep them on the field. The result of this will be another generation of star athletes who believe that rules don't apply to them.
Ben Tate is a senior political science and economics double major.