Athletes after accusation

             In today's world, the public watch professional sports such as baseball, basketball, football and hockey, as a form of escape from the rigors of everyday life, stress from work, and everyday household environment. Children idolize Allen Iverson, among other athletes, for his prowess in his respective sport, as well as the "cool" image he portrays. When one of these heroes is abruptly thrown down from their seemingly insurmountable pedestal by an alleged victim accusing them of a crime, the public, adults and children alike, are unwilling to accept their possible and sometimes plausible guilt. Are professional athletes capable of regaining their hero status after being accused of a crime? Athletes most certainly are capable.
             Since his professional debut in 1997 Allen Iverson has become known for his gritty style of play. Off the court, Iverson endorses companies such as Reebok and Sega. The National Basketball Association uses Iverson as a marketing tool for the league. Tony Kornheiser characterizes Iverson as a thug in his July.19, 2003 article "The Truth Lies in the Unknown" Iverson uses this aforementioned reputation to maintain street credibility. In turn the companies which he endorses, as well as the league he promotes, use Iverson to maintain their own sense of street credibility.
             This concept worked very well until Iverson went beyond the "look." In the summer of 2002, Iverson was charged with assault for threatening a man with a gun. Even though it is not considered a crime, Iverson also kicked his wife out of their home in the middle of the night while she was naked. The charges against Iverson were later dropped, an Atlantic Press article explains, "Iverson had been under the heavy scrutiny of the media," the article goes on to state Iverson's accusers dropped the charges against him because they did not wish to pursue the case. In the spring of 2003, t...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Athletes after accusation. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 11:16, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/5194.html