BY ANDREW SCHNEIDER

Because so many high profile athletes are considered role models for young children, it is always a shock when we hear that they have done something wrong. Whether it is using performance enhancing drugs, or something as horrible as taking another person’s life, it is hard to continue idolizing these players… at least at first.

There is almost always going to be some sort of coverage when an athlete commits a crime. No matter if the allegations are true or not, there will be a story about it somewhere. And the more famous the athlete, the bigger the story will be.

A few weeks ago, Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov was arrested and charged for assault and kidnapping. There wasn’t much national coverage of the event, but two days later, he was allowed to travel with his team to Dallas, where he started the game in goal.

Although Varlamov isn’t necessarily a household name in the United States, he is one of the better goalies in the NHL this season. He is also one of many professional athletes who have gotten in trouble with the law during their playing careers. Ray Lewis, Ben Roethlisberger, and Kobe Bryant are just a few of the many other big name athletes who have been accused of some sort of illegal activity. Varlamov may still undergo a trial, but for now he is free to travel and play for the Avalanche. It seems as though that this is the outcome on too many occasions.

Other than what they have been doing in their sport, it has been while since we have heard anything about the three players mentioned above. Of course when their incidents first occurred, it was big news. But after the legal dust settled, they were able to go back to their teams and make millions of dollars doing what they love.

And it gets worse as athletes make more and more money. There are countless stories of star players getting pulled over for drunk driving or charged with possession of illegal substances. But all they get is a “small” fine of a few thousand dollars, the equivalent of a couple bucks for regular people like you and me, and then they return to their team where thousands of people cheer when they enter the game.

Apparently having millions of dollars and making a public apology on television is the magic combination to being forgiven. I’m not saying that everyone has forgotten about what some athletes have done. There are plenty of people who still think some stars should be punished, but we hardly ever hear from them.

It is almost the opposite of what happens in government. If a political figure does something wrong, that is often the thing people remember most. But when a top athlete is the one in question, their wrongdoings are often over shadowed by their trophies and rings.

I myself am an Avalanche fan, and I am glad that Varlamov has done well for them. But I also think that it is wrong for his actions to go unpunished. Even if it means him leaving the team, punishments should overrule paychecks.

BY KATHRYN ROTH

After a 24-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday November 17, Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams made a claim that Roy Ellison, umpire on the officiating crew, made disrespectful remarks towards him during the game.

This story was featured all over the ESPN website, on SportsCenter, and various other sporting reports. All of these reports discussed whether or not Ellison should be punished or not for his actions.

My question is not if Ellison should be punished, but if this story is really news worthy.
It is no secret that this kind of behavior occurs on the field all of the time. You can go to any sporting event whether it’s at the high school, college, or professional level and hear the same kind of remarks that Ellison made.

This doesn’t make Ellison’s behavior acceptable, but the media is making him out to be a criminal for his actions as if he is the only person involved in sports to ever make comments like this on the field.

This type of behavior in sports, especially in the National Football League, has become the norm. It is unfortunate that coaches, players, and officials feel that they need to act this way, but we have to accept it and move on.

The media needs to spend less time criticizing people like Ellison for doing harmless things and focus on the more important stories in sports.

When I log onto ESPN or turn on SportsCenter to see the latest sports news, I want to see actual sports news, not grown men complaining about being called names.

BY JAMES MORAN

The aftermath of a near fistfight between Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka last week, has fueled yet another race related debate in sports. After the near brawl in Los Angeles, a frustrated Barnes was fined $25,000 for his behavior and for writing a tweet that contained the N-word.

Following the fine and apology, many prominent analysts and former players sounded off on the topic. On ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption”, host Michael Wilbon supported Barnes by saying he uses the word “all day, every day” and that NBA commissioner David Stern and those like him had “no right to tell black people how to speak”.

It’s a bit surprising that there are people out there who found Barnes’s word choice to be shocking let alone worthy of a fine. Wilbon was right in saying that he wouldn’t have made those same remarks publicly, but the league has no place in telling players if they can or can’t use that word.

Unfortunately, racially charged disagreements still take place in 2013 and that there are some people who claim a word created as a slur should be allowed to be said by everyone. With that being said, Wilbon and other analysts were right to defend Barnes’ right to say it.

There is still plenty of racism in and out of the sports world and Wilbon and others were right to be able to reiterate that in a respectful, professional way. It just goes to show that while often times the sports world is an escape from what happens outside of it, it is still greatly affected by racial tension.

BY TIM LOVE

On October 27th the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions battled in a game for the ages. Calvin Johnson had a nearly record breaking game with 329 receiving yards.

However, many of the analysts didn’t even focus on the amazing game that Johnson had.
Many analysts focused on Dez Bryant at the end of the third quarter and most of the fourth.

The analyst talked about the so-called “tantrum” that Bryant was throwing on the sideline. The cameras showed Bryant throwing his helmet down and apparently yelling at Tony Romo and Coaches.

Many analysts were irate and basically called Bryant selfish and a bad teammate. That would all change in the next few days.

The next day the audio of the “tantrum” came out. Many of the analysts were now changing their opinions of Bryant and now called him a passionate player instead of a selfish teammate because the audio showed him saying things such as “we’re the best in the league at this” and “nobody can stop us”.

Was he just being too passionate?

That is something that each individual would have to determine however, the media seemed to jump to the conclusion about what was happening on the sideline. Because of Bryant’s past they automatically assumed that he was being a bad teammate and a distraction.

The media should be prompt with their coverage, but they should also strive to deliver the most accurate information as possible. The media shows no mercy to players with a troubled past and can’t wait to throw a player under the bus when even the slightest incident happens.

BY TIM LOVE

Prior to the Houston Rockets game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night November 7, 2013, most of the media has been focusing on Dwight Howard’s return instead of the game at hand.

Dwight left the Lakers over the summer of 2013 when he became a free agent. He is now with the Houston Rockets. This game against the Lakers will be his first meeting since leaving for the Rockets.

This week the media has been directing questions to Dwight like how will it feel to play against his former teammates on Thursday. Dwight has dodged questions about his one year stint in Los Angeles last season. Other questions answered by analysts were about how Howard will respond playing against his former team.

In a video on ESPN called “Dwight downplays facing Lakers”, Bruce Bowen said Dwight should want to play like “it’s all there fault”. I think the meaning of this is when most players have disappointing seasons with a former team and leave to go to another team they have something to prove.

In regards to Dwight playing against the Lakers, Bowen said he should approach the game by playing as “I was able to do some things, and you all wouldn’t allow me to do it”. Basically this says the Lakers didn’t really implement him into the offense with Kobe Bryant and I think Bowen feels Dwight should show that his game fits better with the Houston Rockets. I believe the reason why the media pays a lot of attention to athletes playing against their former teams is because it’s an interesting topic and sometimes the media wants to know how that particular athlete feels about the situation.

It will be interesting to see if this happens every time Dwight plays his former team. Will this also happen when he plays the Magic or has that relationship association dissolved because of his time with the Lakers? Whether Dwight does have strong feelings about playing his former teams or not, the media will always gravitate towards the most dramatic theoretical situation.

BY STEVEN KUBITZA

College basketball season is upon us and that means Dick Vitale will be announcing games, just as he has been doing since ESPN’s inception in 1979.

His famous calls that all seem to include “Baby”, or “Unbelievable”, make some people smile and others cringe. It is likely that you even read those words in his voice. If you did not do so, then it is likely that you just did. His voice is so distinct, that it is impossible to forget. It is this type of reaction that makes “Dickie V” such an interesting case to look over.

Liking Vitale or not may depend on the personality of the person listening to him, as those who prefer a more peaceful game experience may not like all the yelling.

His style is something that makes him unique, and exclusive to ESPN broadcasts. Perhaps that is not how he would call every game, but ESPN forces him to do so. It is a possibility, or maybe that is his style. That seems like a trade secret that we will never know.

Even with some of the animosity towards him, Dickie V, it is tough to have no respect for him. His knowledge of the game and love for it can usually outweigh judging his character based on his antics. It is wrong to not give respect to an actual Hall of Famer, which Vitale is since 2008.

Dick Vitale is currently nearing the end of his on-air career, so no matter the opinion one has on him, it is important to cherish the time that we all have left with him on-air.

Those who love him will continue to do so until his final game, and those who do not should at least appreciate him while he is around, because it is unlikely that another on-air personality will come around who is associated with one sport as prominently as Dickie V is with college basketball.

BY CHELSEA VANASSCHE

The “Buy or Sell” segment of ESPN’s “Around the Horn,” essentially asks panelist to either buy or sell things either they like or don’t like. During a recent episode’s, “Buy or Sell” segment, panelist Kevin Blackistone was asked about the Northwestern University football uniforms which will be worn in support of the Wounded Warrior Project in this season’s upcoming game against Michigan.

While the uniforms are worn for a great cause, controversy surrounds the uniforms. This includes the full American flag uniforms being worn by the players or the fact that on the uniforms it looks like blood is splattered. Blackistone decided to “sell” the uniforms but his argument went beyond the Northwestern’s uniforms.

Blackistone argued, “military symbolism embraced in sports: whether it’s the singing of a war anthem to open every game, whether it’s going to get a hot dog and being able to sign up for the Army at the same time, whether it’s the NFL’s embrace of the mythology of the Pat Tillman story.” “You are conflating a war anthem with a simple game,” he said. “And when you have military flyovers and all the other military symbolism that goes on in sports, I think, you’ve got a problem.”
The national anthem shows respect to the freedom we have in our country and ultimately, has became a tradition in sports. Professional sports have become a part of America’s culture, and there is no better stage to respect our troops and country.

The fly-over’s, the national anthem, and recognizing those serving our country in pre-game ceremonies is a great reminder to our citizens that we are able to live in a free country and enjoy the entertainment of sports.

BY OLLIE GOSS

The NCAA released its decision on the University of Miami this week and gave ESPN yet another opportunity to ridicule their judgment.

The NCAA decided to not impose a bowl ban to the Hurricanes, but instead penalized the program by taking away nine football scholarships over three years, three basketball scholarships, and adding probation to the athletic program for three years. These sanctions followed an unprecedented self-imposed bowl ban that kept the Hurricanes out of two bowl games and an ACC conference championship game. 

ESPN chose to reflect on the case as another inconsistency from the NCAA compliance department as anchors and analysts compared the case to the sanctions imposed on USC and Ohio State. 

By displaying the negative reaction USC Athletic Director Pat Haden and stating that people at USC and Ohio State should be furious, the network again took a verbal stab at the NCAA.

ESPN constantly scrutinizes the NCAA on issues such as sanctions, the payment of players, and the BCS system and persuades their viewing population to also form a negative opinion of the system. 

Instead of the network reporting on how the NCAA lightened the sanctions on Miami because of their self-imposed penalties costing the university a large portion of potential revenue from bowl games, they attempt to undermine the association by highlighting inconsistencies. 

The NCAA simply cannot catch a break from ESPN and their image will continue to suffer.