Column by John Morris
With their name in the lights and their persona idolized the public see one side and have their own perception but who are these people really?
Athlete’s lifestyles are one that most people admire and aspire to have.
One issue with this public perception is that when people get in these positions of fame and attention, they aren’t normal people anymore.
We want them to fit whatever character we think represents them as a person whether they’re a good guy or bad guy.
You got guys like Tom Brady, Lebron James, and Johnny Manziel who have had issues recently in their careers.
Manziel may have had one of the most watched college careers after winning the Heisman as a freshman.
While he was quarterback at Texas A&M, people gave him the label of the cocky football star because of his attitude on the field.
So when Manziel went to parties and hung out with celebrities, people were quick to label him a guy who cared more about parties and not football.
A 21-year-old college student was having a good time and it was turned into a guy being self-centered and arrogant.
Lebron James is the face of the NBA. James has been a star since he played in high school then jumped straight to the league.
His whole career he has been examined like a specimen that may never be seen again.
He is constantly compared to Michael Jordan as going down in history as one of the greatest to play the game.
James was a Cleveland hero hometown kid and brought a great level of entertainment to the city.
In the 2010 season, James was a free agent and decided he would join the Miami Heat.
People all of a sudden went from loving the man to bashing him and hoping for his downfall.
There were videos of people burning his jersey and the city took down everything that had to do with him.
The biggest reaction was Dan Gilbert, the owner of Cleveland Cavaliers, writing a letter about the decision and him rejecting the decision and having an emotional spill.
Since then, in 2014 James has returned to Cleveland and they love him again.
Tom Brady went from nobody when he first entered the league to one of the most popular figures to play the game.
In last year’s playoffs Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were investigated in a deflate gate for using under inflated balls in the game.
This gave for a lot of discussion and opinions tossed about how the penalty should be dealt with.
The league saw it fit to suspend Brady four games for the deflation.
This put a new look on Brady’s image from the poster child to a simple peasant at most.
But no one knows what, or if he had anything to do with the scandal. All we know is he played the game as usual.
After legal wars and appeals the court dismissed the suspension and again the world spoke some for the decision and those livid that something like that was looked over.
There are multiple examples of athletes being loved and hated in the same breath but they are still normal people.
Fans emotional investment in these athletes puts them on a pedestal and once they do something that rubs us the wrong way we’re quick to turn on them or spite them.
We say a lot about them good, bad or otherwise but we are on the outside looking in and shouldn’t be so quick to stamp them or turn on them.