Thursday, January 17, 2013

Leave the speculation at the door


The news out of South Bend yesterday was troubling. As a fan of sports, Notre Dame, and the human race as a whole, I won’t even bother with the details. ESPN, Dead Spin, Facebook, and Google would do you far more good if you want to know the latest scoop on the Manti Te’o hoax.
Rather than contribute to the circus of rampant speculation surrounding this bizarre affair, I think it is appropriate to simply just take a deep breath and look at the way we look at sports in our culture.
As a fan of sports, it is no longer simply acceptable to have a deep passion for your team, and root for them when you go to a game. Now, to be considered a knowledgeable fan, you have to know everything from which high school sophomore is making a verbal commitment to your alma mater to what the captain of your team tweeted about his breakfast sandwich this morning. The “best” fans are really just the best informed fans. And with this mass demand by legions of fans for more information, it’s no surprise that things like this happen. Players’ privacies become commodities that can be bought and sold. An athlete’s net worth is dependent not only on his or her athletic abilities, but on the ability to generate consumable information for the masses.
It is important to understand that the main player in this whole media mess is a 22-year-old man. Do you remember when you were 22 years old? I was delivering pizza and answering phones for a living, eking out a young life that enjoyed the comforts of good friends, a simple apartment, good health, and relative obscurity. Contrast that to a young man who has millions of fans that have never even spoken to him, career prospects that include millions of dollars in yearly earnings, and a personal life that is anything but personal. So before we speculate about who is in the wrong, or who is behind this hoax, let’s just keep this in perspective. Not only is Manti Te’o young, but he is under an extraordinary amount of pressure. If we care about him, or even the sport as a whole, just grant him some privacy. Stop going to different websites to get the latest update. Turn off your TV. Watch something else. Let trained professionals get to the bottom of this, and make your informed opinions then.
One of the great things about sport is the humanity revealed in all of it. You see people’s highest highs and lowest lows out on the field of play. In televised sports we see people who are the best at their craft do what they love. Their talent makes them seem super-human, but they most certainly are human. And as humans we (and athletes!) make mistakes. We hurt and we get hurt. We lie and are lied to. But some of the most distinguishing human characteristics are our best traits. We forgive. We understand. We show compassion. So, however the dust settles in this whole affair, let’s let our best selves show through.