The Social Athlete

The sad broadcasts of gum chewing, ill-mannered, unintelligible interviews with athletes are far too common. We should be bothered and disturbed when we witness a 300 lb. twenty something year-old athlete who can barely articulate a sentence with correct grammar while being interviewed on national television. Instead, we allow the media to work its magic and divert our attention to the numbers on the scoreboard and video clips of the athlete's outstanding physical abilities. There is life after sports right? Coaches and agents are not the only ones at fault. As fans, we freely bestow the title of "role model" on those athletes who are publicly rude and shamelessly promiscuous. One week of bad press? Not to worry because the very next week, to ensure our social event boasts coveted invitations, we reward these same athletes with a begging bid to attend our private shindig. And we honestly don't care if he or she speaks like a 3rd grader - we just want em to "show up" and smile nice for the society page photos.

Are athletes exempt from showing decorum and some sense when being interviewed? For the professionals, shouldn’t this be part of their job? When watching certain athletes being interviewed, I can’t help but wonder whether a coach, friend, or agent bothered to offer simple pointers on interview do's and don'ts. There are some interviews that are down right embarrasing! Some are soon taken off the internet because they are so shameful. I don't care how cute, handsome, or talented you are – every athlete should be coached on how to present a positve image when being interviewed! Is the sporting arena the one community where basic social competency is not expected? From what I've seen there are many reasons to believe that the standard for public appearances by an athlete is that there is no standard.

We are guilty of helping to create "social monsters" when we purchase game tickets that translate into fat checks for athletes who exhibit a poor social profile. We sanction their actions when we don’t insist on consequences for inappropriate behavior and on education for those with deficient social skills. We should encourage scouts and coaches to utilize "social skills appraisals" as part of their interview process right along with physical ability. This means contracts include an investment to develop physical skills as well as core social skills – both necessary for functional successes that will serve an athlete long after the reporters are gone. The “coach of the year” titles should be awarded to those coaches who go the extra mile and spends the extra dollars to develop the “whole” athlete in every athlete.