Johnny Manziel Behaving Badly? A New Light Shed on an Age Old Problem
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By Debbie Edwards
Our society loves its heroes! We idolize people for their ability to run faster, throw further, or score more than the opponent. We align ourselves, more often than not, with the home team, where we can bond with like-minded individuals, solidify a fan base. When the home team produces heroes who elevate the team above its competition, we, the fans feel a weird sense of accomplishment, a rush, a feeling that we personally achieved something because of our alignment with a particular team or player. However, there is a flip side to this idolatry. It is the ugly side of sports, and that ugly side has, unfortunately reared its head several times within this last week.
Jim Mora, one-time coach of the New Orleans Saints, said it best. “It ain’t far from the penthouse to the outhouse” is one of his comical, yet truthful quotes. In all segments of society, the media and fans have a tendency to elevate people to an almost Godlike level, but as soon as the elevation reaches its maximum height, the person previously elevated becomes a target. It becomes popular to take shots at this target, and those shots in themselves become a sport of sorts too, gaining momentum, a fan base, cheers, and applause. It is also popular to shoot at the opposing target in an attempt to bring him down below who we deem worthy of such elevation, and examples of this abound.
Johnny Manziel, back-up quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, is certainly no stranger to controversy. He was one of the most acclaimed quarterbacks entering the NFL draft. His talent is phenomenal. He rose to the top of the sports world with his athleticism and tenacity, yet his rise was not without controversy. The latest controversy stems from self-proclaimed fan, Chris Gonos. Late Friday night, Gonos reported that he observed “Johnny Football” near an elevator and decided to approach him. He stated to Manziel that he was the biggest Browns fan ever, told Manziel that he loved him, and reached out to give him a hug. The hug was reciprocated with a punch to the face by one of Manziel’s entourage, and a melee ensued. A police report was filed and an investigation is underway, but Gonos is alleging that Manziel punched his brother. Interestingly enough, Gonos pled guilty last year to conspiracy to structure financial transactions to evade filing currency transactions reports.
One has to wonder if this is Gonos’ new hustle. His details of the account seem to vary from trying to give Manziel a hug to trying to shake his hand. It does seem odd to me that he would want to hug Manziel when an autograph and maybe even a picture should have sufficed.
Speaking of pictures…..Rachel Prosser, an employee of a Maryland veterinary clinic that Ray Rice uses to treat his dog, has also gained press this week. She was excited to meet Rice, even asking him to pose for a picture. He obliged. Shortly thereafter, she posted on twitter “Shit I just met Ray Rice at my work but I forgot he’s the one who beat his girlfriend.” If Prosser was so disturbed by Rice’s domestic violence incident against his then girlfriend (now wife), why did she post it on social media? Why didn’t she simply delete the picture and not make an issue of it? And why, days later, did she feel the need to state that Rice “was really a nice guy….. What I wrote was a silly lapse in judgment.” No, what she wrote revealed more about herself than it does about Rice. In her thoughtless attempt to brag about meeting a celebrity, she forgot her values at the door. If one forgets their values in a moment of excitement over meeting a celebrity, do they really posses the values that they purport to?
Speaking of values, journalists are held to values of sort. They too claim to hold a code of ethics, whereby truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, and fairness are necessary qualities when disseminating information to the public. Journalists thrive on breaking a new story, but accuracy and truthfulness are paramount in achieving this. Acclaimed sports writer from the San Francisco Chronicle evidently had a lapse in judgment when she defied accuracy and fairness when she tweeted “C’mon Boston College. Beat the rapist.” It should be noted that Killion is one of the 3 finalists for the coveted California Sports Writer of the Year Award.
With all of the recent press calling attention to our judicial process and millions of Americans proclaiming that it, while imperfect, is our process and should be supported, it’s obvious that Killion feels that her team winning preempts the legal process. She did later express regret that she did not use the words “alleged rapist”, but the damage has already taken root. Killion is reported to have received death threats, as some people still hold Winston on a pedestal and resent others taking aim at him.
We as a society need a serious reality check. We place imperfect human beings, having similar flaws and shortcomings to us, above us, rendering them Godlike. Thereafter, if they don’t live up to the hype, or disappoint us in some manner, we demonize them, extort them, slander them, strip them of the worship and accolades that we previously lauded them with. What’s the solution? BALANCE. Many in our society have become fanatics, and logic, reason, and balance elude them. Enjoy sports. Enjoy athletes. Enjoy the competition and the rivalries. But place proper perspective on it. We need to invest our energy, our emotion, and our passion into bettering our lives and our communities.
