Captain Idiot
Another day, another sports star in a cheating scandal. Now everyone wants to be Tiger Woods. I don’t claim to know anything about sport, but there’s this chap called John Terry who plays for some football team over here (that’s ‘soccer’ for you Americans reading) and also happens to be the Captain of the England team. Mr Terry, it was recently revealed, has been having an affair with the girlfriend of one of his teammates. The press has been having a field day with it and last week, Terry was stripped of his Captaincy for the England team. But was it right?
Hardcore Terry fans are outraged, saying his personal life has nothing to do with what he does on the pitch. Are we forgetting about what the real issue is here? He was having an ongoing affair with a teammate’s girlfriend. He’s supposed to be the leader of the team. Does he intend to motivate every member of the team by sleeping with their other halves? I’m not sure I understand the strategy. Can you imagine being the teammate and having to take direction from this prick when you know he’s been diddling your girlfriend? Probably makes things a little uncomfortable in the locker room.
These players are paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a week. On top of that, they get endorsement and advertising deals. John Terry can’t be captain of the England team for the same reason Tiger Woods was dropped by Gilette. It’s about morality. People buy into more than just the player. Can we really have Tiger Woods cheesing in an ad where the strap line is ‘Gilette. The best a man can get’? Gilette is clearly not the best Tiger can get. Tiger can get multiple hos, at the drop of a dime, whenever he wants (if he can squeeze it in between organising his sock drawer).
You are a representative of something. You are meant to be good and virtuous and honorable. Since you’re paid all that money to be a great football player, we expect you to be a great man too. Yes it’s bullshit, but that’s how it is. Use all that money to wipe away your tears. Considering how seriously football is taken in England, being the Captain of the England team is a pretty frikkin’ big deal. You are representing the country and the powers that be decided that a lying, cheating prick is not the best possible person to represent it.
It’s about more than just the game. It’s about leadership and the qualities of a leader. What have his actions done for the morale of the team? If I was the teammate, I’d be less concerned with kicking the ball around and more of concerned with kicking John Terry directly in the nuts.
But most of all, if you’re given that position, you do everything you can not to mess up that chance, just like with any big promotion in life. Sure, your personal life should have nothing to do with work, but when you make the decision to sleep with your coworker’s girlfriend, the rules change.
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Tags: cheaters, cheating, punishments
