Steelers: Why Does Off-The-Field Conduct Matter?

As Steelers players and fans know, getting into legal trouble off the field is big news in today’s media. That discussion and judgment can kill a career.

When people saw reports that Antwon Blake was arrested for public drunkenness and released when he sobered up, I bet most people said, “ah, young and dumb.” I don’t really care about that arrest, unless it feeds into a pattern of concerning behavior.

Let’s face it. Sports celebrities have never had a lock on sainthood. They are a segment of OUR population. Some people get into trouble. Many don’t. Some you would want your kids to emulate and some you wouldn’t.

That hasn’t changed. However, I think the visibility has changed. Sports celebrities are under a microscope. Fair or not, it is the world they step into.

Sometimes the court of opinion is in the media and not in a courtroom. My opinion usually comes down very conservatively when it comes to illegal behavior and poor judgment among those who are in privileged positions getting paid enormous sums of money.

Is it fair that people apply their values and morals onto celebrities without even knowing them?

Is it fair to hold sports teams responsible because they employ people under suspicion or even convicted of crimes?

Is it fair to continue to judge a person who has served time for an offense or was accused but not charged or convicted?

How much should off-the-field conduct matter? Who gets to define it? The NFL has seriously struggled with that over the last year.

As a fan, I struggle with it and try to not bring negative off-the-field behavior into my judgment of the players.

The Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Hardy situations are particularly hard for me. I have no patience for violence against women and children. The Ben Roethlisberger off-the-field issues were very difficult for me as well. See, they never really go away either. Is it fair? Probably not, but I am human. My personal experiences feed my opinion.

My bottom line is that I want the sports celebrities that I root for to value the same things I do. Does it have anything to do with sports? I don’t know.

If I break the law beyond a minor offense, I would probably get fired. I might even get let go for being charged with a minor offense. I put my lifestyle in jeopardy if I break the law. Why should sports celebrities be any different?

The real issue should be what happens between being charged and being convicted or exonerated. We are “innocent until proven guilty,” right? The limbo period is a little hard to define, unless you’re incarcerated like Aaron Hernandez.

It’s a violent sport, but I guess I want players who separate the violence of the sport from real life. Off-the-field conduct matters to most fans no matter how much you try to separate it. If we hear about it, we form opinions. Fair or not, it has to be dealt with.

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