Halos and handcuffs
October 10, 2007
Marion Jones, is not an angel or a crook and does not deserve to endure this performance art ritual known as A Fall From Grace. She should be remembered for being a spectacular athlete who enthralled and entertained us. Athletes, at the end of the race, the game, the playoffs, are entertainers. So why don’t we cut them the same slack we give entertainers like Robert de Niro or Will Smith, when they dramatically reshape their bodies to play top athletes as de Niro did for “Raging Bull” and Smith did for “Ali”? We didn’t scrutinize how they did it and make them submit to random testing on their jobs. Just do it, we say collectively, better than anyone else. We’re in awe of their commitment to their craft that they would make this superhuman transformation. So why do we wag our fingers at Marion Jones or homerun king Barry Bonds (allegedly) for using performance enhancers? Everyone has used them. Coffee is a performance enhancer. So are vitamins. Now should each of us who has performed faster, better and with greater focus at work, after a trip to Starbucks or a vitamin store be singled out for public humilation? No. Let’s get some perspective. It’s entertainment.
