Anybody else feel dirty when they watch Sportscenter these days?
I don’t mean when you see a sick dunk from a freshman in college. I’m talking about how the only news you see now is about how athletes are in the middle of sex scandals. You want to hear how the Vikings and Steelers are doing? Not happening, because there are players that can’t keep it in their pants.
If I wanted to see who’s sleeping with who, I would watch the celebrity gossip alert on some news website dedicated to those who actually care.
There are a lot of people who may think I am exaggerating. I wish I were. Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings is the latest suspect after reports were made that he sent inappropriate messages, both voice and pictures, to an on-field reporter of the New York Jets two years ago. It is a little suspicious that the accusations came two years after he left the Jets, but nonetheless, it is all over the news.
Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers is also a repeat offender. He has been accused twice of sexually assaulting a woman. The problem I have here is not the fact that everybody talked about how excited they were for him to return, (he should have been gone all year) but the fact that his face covered about 80 percent of ESPN’s airtime. Assaulting a woman should get you in trouble, not boost your legacy.
The New York Post makes me puke the most. For 19 straight days, the 9/11 attacks made the front cover, which is understandable. That was one of the most horrific events to happen in this country. But when Tiger Woods made the front cover Dec. 18, 2009, for his cheating ways, that marked the 20th consecutive day his mug was on the front. Yes, it’s interesting when someone slips up like that, but is it more important than the real heroes of this great country?
I was raised to talk about things that were appropriate for the dinner table. I understand that times have changed, but even I get tired of all the talk about sex, and I’m a 20-year-old college student. When I watch ESPN, I want to know the score to the Eagles’ game. Let’s leave the sex talk to those who direct porn or the teenage guy who can’t control his hormones.

ahimes@mesastate.edu