thefinishline 10/13/10
Are We Surprised?
by Aaron M. Little
Another male athlete is allegedly caught in the cross hairs of another sexual harassment scandal. This is not a shocker until we read the name, “Brett Favre,” attached to the headline. Did we see this coming? Last year, in the midst of one of Favre’s best seasons in a storied NFL career, did we think we’d be adding Favre to the list of tarnished names like Roethlisberger, Pitino, and Tiger? Like Tiger, Favre had created quite a side job for himself doing commercials and pitching products. Has he texted all of that away?
And it’s becoming common for men to look at these cultural icons and think, “If Tiger can cheat on his wife...if Favre can (allegedly) send sexually charged texts to an attractive younger woman – not his wife – can it really be that wrong? I’ve looked up to these guys for years, decades, and look at their success. Why not ‘enjoy’ life like they seem to?”
If nothing else, I think we’re also seeing the flipside as these situations play out. Roethlisberger was benched for four games this year as the result of his latest misconduct. Tiger has been publicly humiliated for a year and has lost his wife and family. Only time will tell how this affects Favre, who appeared to be a loving husband and great father, a model family man/athlete. Was that moment of temporary indiscretion worth it in any of these instances? I would venture to say probably not.
So when the question inevitably is asked, “how can men avoid temptations like this?” another current sports headline comes to mind. Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, no stranger to embarrassing bad personal decisions over his early baseball career, has straightened himself out with God’s help over the past several years. He has been open about his battle with drug and alcohol addiction so much so that when his team won the AL West pennant last month, he purposefully skirted the locker room celebration to avoid the champagne showers and alcohol friendly partying. It was too much of a temptation for him and he knew he didn’t want to be in that situation. Furthermore, his teammates so admire and respect his decision that when the Rangers advanced to the ALCS last night, the team intentionally held a ginger ale locker room celebration so that Josh could be included!
My point is, as men (and even as humans, so women too), we need to know what situations we are weak in and make an extra effort to put and keep our guard up. Josh knows he has addiction problems with drugs and alcohol, so he guards himself from being in tempting situations. If lust is a struggle, we should guard ourselves from being in situations that tempt us. We need to find a brother and confess those things which trip us up and tempt us so that we can then have some accountability. I bet Tiger, Roethlisberger and all the others now wish they had invested more time fostering that kind of relationship instead of chasing skirts. Proverbs 4:23 is the best advice I can think of: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” We have to be active about protecting ourselves – our spirits, our families, our hearts.
Another male athlete is allegedly caught in the cross hairs of another sexual harassment scandal. This is not a shocker until we read the name, “Brett Favre,” attached to the headline. Did we see this coming? Last year, in the midst of one of Favre’s best seasons in a storied NFL career, did we think we’d be adding Favre to the list of tarnished names like Roethlisberger, Pitino, and Tiger? Like Tiger, Favre had created quite a side job for himself doing commercials and pitching products. Has he texted all of that away?
And it’s becoming common for men to look at these cultural icons and think, “If Tiger can cheat on his wife...if Favre can (allegedly) send sexually charged texts to an attractive younger woman – not his wife – can it really be that wrong? I’ve looked up to these guys for years, decades, and look at their success. Why not ‘enjoy’ life like they seem to?”
If nothing else, I think we’re also seeing the flipside as these situations play out. Roethlisberger was benched for four games this year as the result of his latest misconduct. Tiger has been publicly humiliated for a year and has lost his wife and family. Only time will tell how this affects Favre, who appeared to be a loving husband and great father, a model family man/athlete. Was that moment of temporary indiscretion worth it in any of these instances? I would venture to say probably not.
So when the question inevitably is asked, “how can men avoid temptations like this?” another current sports headline comes to mind. Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, no stranger to embarrassing bad personal decisions over his early baseball career, has straightened himself out with God’s help over the past several years. He has been open about his battle with drug and alcohol addiction so much so that when his team won the AL West pennant last month, he purposefully skirted the locker room celebration to avoid the champagne showers and alcohol friendly partying. It was too much of a temptation for him and he knew he didn’t want to be in that situation. Furthermore, his teammates so admire and respect his decision that when the Rangers advanced to the ALCS last night, the team intentionally held a ginger ale locker room celebration so that Josh could be included!
My point is, as men (and even as humans, so women too), we need to know what situations we are weak in and make an extra effort to put and keep our guard up. Josh knows he has addiction problems with drugs and alcohol, so he guards himself from being in tempting situations. If lust is a struggle, we should guard ourselves from being in situations that tempt us. We need to find a brother and confess those things which trip us up and tempt us so that we can then have some accountability. I bet Tiger, Roethlisberger and all the others now wish they had invested more time fostering that kind of relationship instead of chasing skirts. Proverbs 4:23 is the best advice I can think of: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” We have to be active about protecting ourselves – our spirits, our families, our hearts.