- Published: August 16, 2022
- Updated: August 16, 2022
- University / College: University of Virginia
- Language: English
- Downloads: 5
The Rise and Fall of Professional Athletes With the introduction of Faceable, Twitter, Instating and other social networks professional athletes have been placed under a microscope with their every action being scrutinized by everyone in the public sphere. However this was not always the case when it came to Pro Athletes status in society. A pro athlete ten years ago may not have been met with the same strife as a current pro athlete.
Athletes of the past lived by a different set of rules and could do no wrong in the eyes of loyal fans everywhere. They were almost in a sense viewed as a deity to some. Athletes of today are faced with challenges not met by past pro athletes. They cannot divulge true emotions in fear of the social backlash, or take a stand on a particular issue due to the people of opposite stance not buying their endorsed product which in turn would cost the athlete millions of dollars in endorsement deals. Yes the microcosm of pro athletes still exist because not everyone can be one, but the status of sports athletes in society has evolved due to influences from the public sphere. We live in a different time then say ten years ago, not only from a social economic standpoint, but also from a technological standpoint.
Companies like Faceable, Twitter, and Instating have made a great impact on the social sphere. It is easy for people the share their innermost thoughts and views on particular cultural issues with just a simple click of a submit button. When it comes to pro athletes today, this ease of sharing to the public sphere has become a double edged sword. One side can lead to great publicity of a particular endorsement while the other side can lead ones’ public image downwards spiral into a dark deep abyss. Sometimes not only the image of a reticular athlete affected by the implications of posting to these social networks affected but their families feel the brunt of the “ rip-tide effect” of mainstream media’s coverage.
A perfect example would be the Ray Rice incident that took place a couple of months ago. A video was released of Ray Rice physically assaulting his then fiance Joana Rice in an elevator of a Casino in New Jersey. The video was not for the faint of heart as it shows Ray Rice, an All-Pro NFG running back; deliver a knock-out punch to a 1 Bibb woman. The ESP., CNN, and every other news outlet ran with this story and made this a public issue. So much so that the NFG has been forced into developing a series of domestic violence television ads that shows the NFG will not stand for any type of domestic violence. This all should be an afterthought as domestic violence should not tolerated in any work environment, but did the video Of Joana Rice being physically accosted in that elevator need to be released in order for change to happen. Joana Rice posted the following to her Instating account in rebuttal to the release of the video, No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family.
To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret everyday is a horrible thing… This is involvement of the public opinion and these mass media outlets have not taken into account of what the release of this video has had on the Rice family.
It’s not to say that Domestic Violence isn’t right, but the personal life of Professional Athletes and families are constantly being intruded upon by public opinions from the public sphere. The same cannot be entirely said about the past athletes transgressions they faced ten years ago. Professional Athletes of the past lived in a time when social networks like Faceable, Twitter, and Instating didn’t exist. Their lives weren’t constantly being documented as where they ate lunch that afternoon to what they were spotted at Wall-Mart buying. Their deepest and darkest secrets were not plastered around social networking sites for everyone to see.
For example Chris Carter a NFG hall of fame had an expensive addiction to cocaine. His drug addiction led to his dismissal from the Philadelphia Eagles after three failed drug test in 1990. Now you see him every Sunday broadcasting for ESP.. Another example would be the Ray Lewis case in 2000 when he was indicted on murder charges.
Ray Lexis’s trial ultimately ended in a plea deal that let Ray Lewis plead guilty to misdemeanors obstruction of justice to avoid any jail time. If this was to happen in today’s society, media outlets would have a field day with this story. Surveys and Polls would be created by the likes of ESP. on Twitter to get the fans answers on if Ray Lewis was guilty or not. Don Arabian from dilapidation’s. Com wrote this piece about how media reacted then at the time of this trail,” Sure, after winning the Super Bowl the signature “ I’m going to Disney World! Line was given to Trend Dilled instead of Lewis, but nearly ubiquitous and almost immediate forgiveness was granted by a news media and public that are notoriously thirsty for a Star to tear down.
” This sort of sweeping under the rug most definitely would not have happened today as it did then. The national coverage of this case by large media outlets would have led for Ray Lewis to not even compete in that Super Bowl nor played in the NFG for an entire year. In fact the media coverage fourteen years worked really hard to not even mention the murder trial of Ray Lewis. The NFG network routinely puts a spot eight on a trending NFG player in a series called “ A Football Life”. This particular episode focuses on Ray Lewis and funny enough the show is titled “ A Football Life: Ray Lewis giving back”. Mike Peace with NIP.
Rug wrote a piece on this episode which perfectly shows the wool being pulled over everybody’s eyes. Peace writes,” The murder trial needn’t be dwelled upon or re-litigated. But I can’t see how a fair-minded but uninformed viewer could consume the current version Of Ray Lewis being put forward on NFG. Com and come away with a complete picture of his legacy’. The version of Ray Lewis the NFG.
Com s portraying that Peace refers to in his summation comes at the 3: 03 mark of the video. It shows a young lady meeting Ray Lewis and saying,” Your mom raised a great person. I’m telling both my sons I want them to be just like you! ” (3: 03 – A Football Life: Ray Lewis Giving Back). The blatant disregard for telling the whole story of Ray Lewis paints him in a different light.
By simply sweeping the bad news under the rug shows the evolution of mass media influences in NFG athletes not only in there pro carrier, but personal life’s as well.