Here’s something I bet you didn’t know – Tiger Woods’ infidelities caused shareholders losses in the range of 5-12 billion. Now, picture this if you will- multi-trillionaire superstar is looking forward to an all night orgy. But instead of worrying about contacting herpes, impregnating willing women or being secretly taped, he has to worry how his sexcapades will affect the lives of shareholders. That’s cause enough to deflate all built up enthusiasm. Now, picture this. The president greets shareholders with the following message – ‘Ladies and Gentleman, I’m sorry to announce that our stock has crashed because Mr.X just couldn’t keep his pants on. Next year we’ll be a tad more careful and sign up a pigeon for our product.’
Finally, finally, after many painful months, a search result on Tiger Woods doesn’t reveal a litany of his purported infidelities, the porn star mistress, the friendly neighbourhood girl, and the places he managed to copulate in. Finally, we get to read about him doing what he does best – play golf. In recent times, some of sports biggest names have not been paying attention to the Ten Commandments and have been coveting women at will. Footballer John Terry lost his captaincy and Christiano Ronaldo was bestowed with a child whose conception he probably spent hours trying to recollect. Lance Armstrong’s winning spree in the Tour De france lasted longer than his marriage. Michael Jordan doesn’t just own the mantle of being the greatest basketball player of all time but also has a plaque stashed somewhere commemorating him on the highest divorce settlement ever (168 million dollars). Closer to home, the media was awash with reports of Azharuddin’s roving eye which doesn’t seem to have dimmed with age. From leaving his wife and running into the arms of an aspiring actress to finally playing into the hands of bookies, his illustrious life has been media fodder for ages.
If sex surveys in national magazines are to be believed, everyone seems to be bonking everyone. So then why do we expect our stars to be squeaky clean and faultless? This is not a question of morality, it is a logical question. The collective population heavers a sigh of disbelief as they ask – how could he? The answer is not how couldn’t he, it is, how the heck does it matter? You cannot draw a parallel between infidelity and doping or match fixing, which affect course of play and cause irreparable damage. What I fail to comprehend is why we do we look up to our icons for lessons in moral science?
If you are looking for lessons in morality, look closer to home. There are bound to be people who aren’t participants in sex surveys and who aren’t multi-trillionaire stars. On the other hand, if you want to learn about grace, determination, fortitude, turning the tide and excellence, seek inspiration from our stars. Find out if you will, instead of what flavour condom they prefer, what ungodly time they awoke to hone their skills. See how they put personal problems and didn’t show up on Monday mornings complaining about Monday morning blues. See the hours, the lost chances, the tears, the sorrow, all of which culminate in building legendary careers.
For they signed up to give us joy and show us what’s possible. I very much doubt they signed up to give us moral science lessons.
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