Worshiping Roy and other false idols

Here's the deal: I've played sports since I was a kid. I'm one of those annoyingly competitive people who can't even play Monopoly or Guitar Hero without trying to crush you. I want to win. I enjoy winning. I don't like to lose.

That being said, in all my years of track and field, playing varsity basketball and my last eight years as a member of an all-women's competitive paddling team (with a number of international meets and Club Crew World championships to our name), I have never –and I mean, never- felt the need to rush over to a competitor, grab them by the neck and beat them to a pulp. And then, for good measure, give the middle finger salute to anyone standing around. What the hell makes that ok for hockey? Something needs to be done and done quickly to eradicate the kind of thinking that has allowed such ridiculous behaviour to fester on the ice.

Now that I've berated the league and all the 'professionals' in it, let me just turn my attention to the audience for a minute. While I completely understand your visceral reaction to the downright offensive images displayed last week on TV, I also find the outrage slightly silly. To those who’ve been questioning Roy's (both father and son) ethics, demanding apologies, issuing bombastic ultimatums and trite commentary on the “poor children” who saw their hero reduced to a mere mortal, I say: “Give me a break!”

What is it with this society that loves to worship false idols and then recoils in horror when they’re found to have feet of clay? Every time a sports “hero” behaves in a fashion unsuited to a role model, outraged parents cry “off with his head!”, livid at the thought that little Timmy or Sarah might soon be emulating their behaviour.

Our thinking is irrational and our anger misplaced. Being able to throw a pigskin, run a 400m sprint, sink more three pointers, or score a goal better than anyone else does NOT make you a role model.

What it does make you is a phenomenal athlete; a shining example of physical prowess and technical know-how, a testament to how practicing the same movement over and over again can result in perfection. Professional athletes have a job and they do it well. They are paid handsomely for it. End of story.

Problem is, we idolize our sports heroes, we watch their every move, we pay for their endorsement contracts; we want to “be like Mike”. We think they're bigger, braver, bolder, better than us. And then, when they prove to only be better in sports, we’re crushed.

Confusing sport-specific prowess with one’s worth as a human being is silly, and most importantly, dangerous. Any sport, no matter how well played, remains relatively low on the scale of human accomplishments. At the end of the day, no matter how much money, fame, glory and adoration we lavish on our sports heroes, they’re still not the ones who will find the cure for cancer or bring about world peace.

Does that mean that Roy was justified in behaving like a crass brute? Of course not! But neither do I share the world’s outrage and call to action. At the end of the day, he’s just a man paid to throw a puck around. Looking to him --and professional sports in general-- for moral guidance is like looking to a beauty queen for stimulating intellectual conversation. It’s a pleasant surprise if it happens, but it’s certainly not expected!