Your thoughts can be rational and insightful or foul and offensive. The rapid growth of technology allows these thoughts to be seen by anyone, at anyplace and at anytime. As your average nine-to-five guy, my thoughts are irrelevant to most. My family and friends may think my recent tweet may have been funny or offensive but my tweets will not be displayed on ESPN, or make the headlines on Yahoo.com.
For professional athletes, this isn’t the case. Victor Cruz and Roddy White have a combined 550 thousand followers via Twitter, which has given fans unthinkable access to their favorite players. However, when Cruz or White decides to click send and unveil a grouping of characters that is viewed as incriminating, the storm that follows is disastrous for their reputation.
I tend to shy away from the hot-button topics such as politics and religion and also try to remember the adage from my Mother, “always think before you put anything in writing.” Most professional athletes don’t adhere to this simple lesson and when the ruling from the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case was revealed, most athletes bypassed thinking before clicking the send button. Both are wide receivers and near the top of their profession, but, when their abilities are stagnant and their brain is on display the results are poor.
White, an avid tweeter, said, “All them jurors should go home tonight and kill themselves for letting a grown man get away with killing a kid.” While the New York Giants, Receiver Cruz stated, “Zimmerman doesn’t last a year before the hood catches up with him.” In typical athlete-fashion, the PR companies went into full-swing to restore the once squeaky-clean reputation. Cruz, who recently signed a deal over $40 million, offered a lengthy apology, while adding he “never will advocate violence under any circumstances.” He deleted the original tweet shortly after but what appears on the web cannot be undone.
White, a member of the Atlanta Falcons, initially did not back down from his tweet. Using his Twitter account, he issued the following statement, “It’s crazy how people on twitter want me to get in trouble for a tweet that they are retweeting because they want something to happen thanks.” As distasteful as his tweet was, I commend White for not pulling a Cruz and deleting the tweet as if the words were never published. His apology was sincere and it’s understandable for his reaction in such a sensitive case.
White utilized his kryptonite yet again by apologizing via Twitter. “I understand my tweet last nite was extreme. I never meant for the people to do that. I was shocked and upset about the verdict. I am sorry.”
But, in lieu of the Aaron Hernandez fiasco the NFL is not willing to elongate the black cloud that is currently looming over the billion dollar industry. White and Cruz should not refrain from voicing their opinions, nevertheless the two need to understand the gravity of their profession and the role both take on when they represent the NFL. It’s unjust, but, these athletes are viewed as role models and when athletes make such obvious errors, the hammer is slammed down on them. Cruz and White are trendsetters, what they do could influence their naïve fans to act and do the same so understanding the ramifications of their actions is important.
Despite their location, the New York Giants have prided their organization of flying under the radar and allowing their unlikeable step-brother, the New York Jets, to maestro the media-circus. The same can be said for the Atlanta Falcons. Arthur Blank, the owner of the franchise and co-founder of Home Depot, invested his hopes and dreams in a south-paw quarterback sometime ago and I assume we all know how that turned out. Blank isn’t about to let any player put his team in a negative light.
The negative reports surrounding White and Cruz are over-the-top and unfair. Our society is at fault, we invested too much stock and confidence in athletes. All the same, athletes should under the influence they have on the public. Why should we expect individuals who receive national attention for playing a game to deliver monumental comments about a court case?
The thought that an athlete will make the right decision at every turn is a farce. All human beings make mistakes. However, the visibility of their mistakes gets blown to historic proportions.
Courtesy: LA Times
What Cruz and White said was heartfelt and full of anger, that doesn’t surprise me. Furthermore, the two share the same viewpoints as a lot of Americans on the subject matter. Yet, with the lofty endorsement deals and high-paying contracts, athletes are held to a higher standard and are required to appear perfect and infallible.
Cruz and White should think before they click the send button. As these two fine athletes are left piecing together their wrongdoing from over the weekend, it’s important to remember that the two made a mistake and will continue to do so for the rest of their lives. Along with what Momma said (Cue Forrest Gump), try to remember Herm Edward’s statement of “nothing good ever happens after 11 P.M..”
