Throughout
time, sports and athletics have been a key focus of leisure activity for the
masses. Beginning with the earliest
Paleolithic groups and the early civilizations of the Greeks and Romans, sports
became outlets for recreation, as well as subtle methods to display
masculinity, strength, agility, and ability.
With the rise of industrialization and technological advancement in the
modern era, athletics have progressed to become a crucial focal point for
weekend and nightly activity, with many people either participating in the
games or simply joining as spectators.
Athletes have become the heroes of
modern society, with media attention focused on the best and the
brightest. While many of these famous
athletes use their talents and fame to benefit society -such as Eli Manning’s
work with the Red Cross and food pantries or LeBron James with the Boys and
Girls Clubs of America- and act as role models to younger audiences, some
athletes certainly neglect their obligation as mentors and use their prosperity
to allow them to get away with anything.
Recently, Brazilian soccer player Bruno Fernandes de
Souza was allowed to sign a five-year contract with the Montes Claros of the
Campeonato Mineiro. This contract allows
the goalie to leave prison daily (accompanied by police escort) to train with
the team and play in matches. While the
official ruling by the courts is still to be determined, the fact that de Souza
was able to even sign a contract is mind-boggling. Last March, de Souza was sentenced to 22
years in jail for ordering the kidnapping and slaying of his girlfriend, who
was dismembered and fed to his pet dogs, because he did not want to pay child support
for their newborn. In what world should a convicted murderer be allowed to
receive special treatment to leave jail every day to do what he loves? Due to his fame and popularity, there is a
serious possibility that de Souza may be allowed to complete the stipulations
of this contract.
The Brazilian legal system has some mild similarities
to the American system. Fernandes
seemingly is receiving special treatment due to his celebrity status in Brazil,
and while this holds true to some extent, he is taking advantage of a
particular legal loophole. In Brazilian
law, any inmate who has demonstrated exemplary behavior for four years while
behind bars is given the opportunity to receive more freedoms. In Ferndandes’ case, allowing the pro-athlete
to leave jail each day to practice with his team and participate in matches. This
case is definitely a specialized situation due to his celebrity status, as
other individuals who show good behavior would typically be granted a smaller
freedom such as more yard time.
In America, no such opportunity exists to inmates,
regardless of popularity or elitism. The
closest equivalent to the Brazilian provision exists to inmates near the end of
their sentence. Six months prior to the
end of their sentence, criminals who have shown good behavior during their
internment may be given the opportunity to leave jail and move into a community
home, more commonly known as a halfway house. While doing their time in the
halfway house, the former inmate is allowed to go out on work release each day,
building up a small amount of money that they will be able to use once their
term is ended and gaining work experience, but is required to return to the
home each night as part of their probation.
However, this exception is made only to those who have committed mild
crimes and exhibited great remorse for their actions by being good inmates and
working to redeem themselves. These
exceptions are not made for individuals who have committed violent crimes, such
as Fernandes. Despite his fame and
popularity, his incredibly heinous offense would not be granted any type of special
treatment, demonstrating a fairer and tougher stance in the American legal
system.
As time has progressed, media outlets seem only to
highlight the deviant behavior of athletes and celebrities. While it is crucial
to relay information to the public about the miscreant acts of other
individuals as cautionary tales for the dangers that lurk in everyday society,
media should also pay more attention to the unsung heroes of our times.
I really enjoyed reading this blog and I think you brought up a very good point in general about how athletes who do positive things for the community are often overlooked. Another example you could use is here: http://www.freep.com/article/20130326/SPORTS07/303260136/Michigan-State-spartans-Adreian-Payne-inspired-cancer-battle-7-year-old-friend
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of cases where athletes help society and it goes unnoticed. Even Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks visits the local hospital on a weekly basis to cheer up sickly kids. I agree that the media likes to focus on bad things athletes do because, in my opinion, it's far more interesting. One thing you might want to do is find some factual information to back up your opinion that media outlets cover bad things athletes do over good things. I agree that this is true, but some readers might not so you'll have to convince them with facts.
One of the main things you should mention is whether you think the media coverage is balanced towards famous professional athletes. Think on whether the media fairly represents their side when faced with a negative situation. Also, remember to relate your post back to politics; for instance, talk about how the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanely Cup this year, but there was one player who did not attend the meeting with President Obama afterwards, which caused some controversy.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a really good point that the media likes to more focus on the bad than the good when it comes to athletes. The media likes to focus on the bad in any respect mostly. The only thing that I think you need to expand more on is how this links to politics. You do a great job of capturing how the media ties in. I also would like to hear your voice and your opinions on this argument a little bit more, but overall good job!
ReplyDeleteAs some of your fellow group members note here, you need to make the politics aspects of the post much more significant in terms of the content. You do a good job of making a clear argument about the media and providing examples to support your points, but right now the post is much more about media criticism than how media relates to political issues, political information, political events, etc. There might be something here you could expand upon in terms of the crime angle, but I'm not sure. You will need to rethink the subject matter a bit to place it in line with the assignment's requirements. Remember too that you want to make use of links to further information whenever possible in these blog posts.
ReplyDelete