I'm not perfect, no one is.
But there are certain actions, that even when not able to be "proven" in a criminal court of law should be carried with the perpetrator forever. You beat a woman but are able to dance your way out of charges, good for you but you don't get to be seen in a new light. You molest a child but never spend a day in jail for it, your still scum of the Earth. You like to sexually assault women but are able to argue it was consensual therefore skating the law, well played, but you are no doubt less of a man.
This week two such men have garnered the spotlight in the world of sports.
First, enter into the ring serial woman beater Floyd Mayweather. His long and sordid past was recently profiled in ESPN's Outside the Lines (video below) and I won't exhaust all of the incidents here but his history is clear.
If the history wasn't bad enough having shills like Stephen A Smith @ ESPN sticking up for is track record, and acting as if we are "bad" people for not separating the "boxer" from the "woman beater," is not only laughable, but a disgusting argument.
Now enter NASCAR and driver Kurt Busch who took the checkered flag on Sunday at Richmond. He won the race after being forced to miss the first 3 races of the season due to a suspension from NASCAR for a serious altercation with a woman that resulted in a restraining order being issued against him.
What made Busch's win very unsettling wasn't the fact that NASCAR had no backbone to continue his suspension but instead that his victory somehow exonerated him. FOX's Mike Joy actually uttered the phrase "from suspension to redemption," as Busch was on the final lap and crossing the finish line.
Jalopnik did a great job covering this today, and you can read that story here.
This isn't about second chances. This isn't about what can be proven in a court or not. This isn't about if victims get bought off and then change their story.
What this is about is simple. A person's actions off the court, field, track, ring or whatever their venue is in sports or professional work most certainly should be included in their persona inside the venue. Just because they excel in their sport or win races and boxing matches doesn't give them a free pass for beating on women. They aren't "redeemed" or exonerated once they claim victory on the field.
Shame on big media for allowing anyone to think otherwise.
