Gee-Gees coaches and U of O students weigh in on the bad boys of sports
Andrew Ikeman | Fulcrum Staff
Illustration by Mathias MacPhee
Loved, hated, and feared, “bad boy” professional athletes have popped up in sports history more times than we can count. In light of the recent Yunel Escobar eye-black incident—see this week’s “From the Sidelines”—the Fulcrum recalled some notorious bad boys of sports and asked U of O students and coaches to share their thoughts.
Chad Johnson (a.k.a. Ochocinco)
Known for catching touchdown passes and then celebrating with goofy dances, Chad Johnson has been the clown prince of the National Football League (NFL) for the past decade. He is an avid tweeter and has mastered the art of forming a true bond with his fans and followers. His charming antics certainly entertained, but it was his inability to control his anger that almost ended his career.
On Aug. 11, 2012, Johnson was arrested after allegedly head-butting his wife Evelyn Lozada, star of Basketball Wives, after the couple argued over a receipt for a box of condoms discovered in his car. The star wide receiver, who was competing for a place on the Miami Dolphins roster following a disappointing season in New England, was released by the team the next morning and has reportedly received very little interest from other teams. Johnson accepted a plea deal on Sept. 21, 2012, accepting 12 months of probation and mandatory domestic violence awareness classes.
Blair Lebeau, a second year criminology student at the U of O, is dismayed by the example set by deviant athletes.
“There are a few players who do commit violent crimes, and they should not be the face of the NFL,” said Lebeau. “It is still a good league, and there are far too many examples of athletes committing crimes in the news right now”.
According to Gees head football coach Gary Etcheverry, teams should wait to confirm whether their players are guilty before deciding how to deal with them.
“I would look at each circumstance individually,” said Etcheverry, who has also been a coach at the professional level. “I’ve been involved in circumstances like [Johnson’s], and been involved with athletes and cases where they were later found guilty and some where they were not, or charges were not pressed. So you have to take them all individually, and be very careful; it’s a delicate situation.”
Melky Cabrera
Sometimes you hear a story and can’t help but think, “WTF,” and the story of Melky Cabrera is definitely one of those. A journeyman in baseball, Cabrera has bounced from team to team, his longest commitment being four years with the New York Yankees. He is currently in his best season: he leads the National League (NL) with a .346 batting average, was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, and even won the All-Star game Most Valuable Player award.
On Aug. 15, 2012, Cabrera was suspended for 50 games for violating Major League Baseball’s (MLB) drug policy, after being tested and found to have an elevated testosterone level. He admitted to using a banned substance and accepted the suspension—but not before he had an associate create a fake website in order to justify the elevated testosterone levels. The website was supposed to make it appear that the amount of testosterone in his system was a result of a supplement he ordered online, but this plan backfired.
According to Gee-Gees men’s baseball coach Larry Belanger, Cabrera’s actions could affect the rest of his team.
“Cabrera was one of [San Francisco’s] top players, and now he’s gone for the season, and that really hampers their chances of making it to the post season, or ultimately winning [the championship],” said Belanger. “Really players are about winning, and when you have a player like [Cabrera] who takes that chance away from you because of his foolishness, players don’t like that.”
Sean Campbell, a U of O history student, would stop watching sports if steroid use was allowed.
“I think that steroids is cheating .” said Campbell. “I don’t want to watch a team of cheaters run around and play a game that they are going to win not based on sport [but] based on influence from outside sources, namely drugs.”
Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 years. He competed in 10 All-Star games, and played for the 2011 NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks. He is recognized as one of the best point guards in the game, recording 107 triple-doubles—the third highest of all time.
Kidd has had two highly publicized incidents that have almost ended his career. The first came in 2001, when he was arrested and charged with domestic abuse after beating his wife. He pled guilty, was forced to take anger management classes for six months, and allegedly gave up drinking. This past summer—a mere 10 days after signing on with the New York Knicks—Kidd was arrested for driving while intoxicated after he crashed his car into a telephone pole. The charges are still pending, and there has been no word on whether or not he will face suspension from the league.
“I don’t believe it is okay for anyone to drink and drive” said Lebeau. “[Athletes] shouldn’t be made an example of or be let off easy because of their status.”
Gee-Gees men’s basketball coach James Derouin said that players like Kidd might not be as affected by these charges as one of his own players would be.
“It’s different at the professional ranks than it is at the university level,” said Derouin. “If these kids get in trouble with the law, it’s a lot more [problematic]. I don’t think Jason Kidd is as worried about his future.”
Nick Collins, Andrew Fritsch, and Mark Petaccio
Nick Collins was one of the better players in Ontario Hockey League (OHL) hockey last year. Playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, he racked up 35 goals last season and was drafted to the National Hockey League (NHL) by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round. The Phoenix Coyotes drafted his teammate Andrew Fritsch in the sixth round after Fritsch posted a respectable 32 points.
On Aug. 25, 2012, Collins and Fritsch—along with fellow Greyhound Mark Petaccio—alledgedly sexually assaulted a woman in Sault Ste. Marie and were arrested later that day. As of yet, the three have not been suspended and are still representing their team in games this season as police continue to collect evidence. They are due back in court on Oct. 1.
Campbell thinks the absence of punishment is hypocritical of Greyhound management.
“It’s like if a kid goes and does something wrong, but his parents still let him go out to the movies. It’s not fair really,” he said.
Focus on the positive
According to Gee-Gees women’s hockey coach Yanick Evola, dealing with student athletes is about helping them to become better people.
“I personally address [problems] with the player only,” said Evola. “Meet the player, ask what is going on, ask if they need help, especially on the women’s side … I think we would need an explanation, [to] try to help that person to become a better person, and to realize what [they] did wrong.”
The vast majority of athletes are good people, but the media tends to focus on the few who step outside the law. The NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB all have programs for their athletes to get involved in community outreach, and many players take their job of being a positive role model seriously. Unfortunately, a few bad apples can sometimes tarnish the reputation of the rest of the bushel.
