Commentary: One sport untouched by others' transgressions
The priorities of professional sports need some tweaking. When the NFL's biggest off-season story involves the return of a player after completing a prison sentence for cruelty to animals, when the NBA's heir apparent storms off the court without even an interview following his team's elimination, when even the seemingly-untouchable Big Papi comes out as a 'roider, I have to ask myself, "Are there no honorable athletes left?"
Back when I fell in love with pro sports, the biggest drama on SportsCenter stemmed from Dennis Rodman's most recent dye job. Michael Jordan may have had personal issues that became more apparent after his retirement, but my second-grade self was completely oblivious to any chink in my hoop knight's armor.
These days, however, ESPN can scarcely go 15 minutes without mentioning another tantrum thrown, another rule broken, another fine levied or simply another professional athlete completely ignoring his role model status.
Thankfully, this is not the case amongst all superstars in professional sport. In fact, one sport's giants boast humility, grace and class, avoiding scandal while focusing on being the best they can be on the court, rather than being the biggest story on the front page.
This weekend, their sport will be in the limelight for the final time this year, even though only one of these two superheroes will be competing.
Flushing Meadows. Arthur Ashe Stadium. The sophisticated Roger Federer and the ever-self-deprecating Rafael Nadal.
These two men exhibit every positive trait that professional athletes should have, beginning with equal grace in defeat and victory. Even though Federer shed tears following his loss to Nadal in the Australian Open, they were not the tears of a sore loser. Instead, they were simply a release of his disappointment that he, perhaps, was not the unbeatable player on all surfaces not made of clay.
Likewise, Nadal always defers to the greatness of Roger in post-match interviews, whether following a win or defeat of the Great One.
Their decorum after matches is indicative of the mutual respect the two have for one another. Neither player badmouths the other to any media outlet, admitting that the other has his own advantages. Their mutual respect is so strong that each enjoys playing his greatest rival. In fact, Federer has been quoted as saying that he is "sad" that Nadal's knee issues are prevent him from competing.
After LeBron James' attempts to hide all evidence of his being dunked on by a college player - spurred on by Nike, sure, but agreed to by the King - I cannot seriously see him admitting to disappointment over a missed opportunity to play against the best of the best in the playoffs. And yet, that is exactly the attitude displayed by the kings of tennis.
As for off-court distractions, they might as well be a non-factor when it comes to Federer and Nadal. I'm pretty sure these two are the least favorite celebrity athletes of any gossip magazine. Federer dated his current wife for six years before marrying her this year. And judging by the amount of coverage the press pays it, Rafa might as well not have a personal life.
I'm of the school of thought that the less off-court drama professional athletes engage in, the more successful they are (with a few exceptions). While Nadal and Federer are the perfect examples of this, the vast majority of superstar athletes prefer to ignore this seemingly simple formula for success. Whether it's complaints about playing time or laying blame on teammates for the squad's underperformance (Terrell Owens and Shaquille O'Neal), suspicion of extramarital affairs with pop stars (see: A-Rod) or my personal favorite, indictment of a crime, in which I really don't have to name anyone outside of the NFL, sports run the gamut.
In almost every instance, off-the-court problems simply become an added distraction, pulling players away from the game and toward the precipice of failure. Why Federer and Nadal are seemingly the only athletes who pay attention to this maxim boggles me to no end.
Of course, if all the other athletes took the whole upstanding-citizen thing to heart, what would those ESPN pundits have to fight with each other about anyway?
Natalie Clericuzio is a Wiess College junior and Thresher sports editor.
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