Ok, I have had enough! This evening, I visited ESPN online, only to find 3 of the 10 top stories about inappropriate (and illegal) behavior in professional sports, actually in the NFL alone. Copied right from the site:
Story 1) Kansas City Chiefs suspend Larry Johnson for arrest stemming from spitting drink in woman's face; Story 2) Mike Singletary drops his pants in 49ers locker room in response to frustrating loss (I'm not writing about locker-room antics); and
Story 3) Sports agent Leigh Steinberg arrested for being drunk in public.
PROBLEM: REPRESENTATIVES OF ATHLETE ARE HELD TO HIGHER STANDARD THAN ATHLETE
I don't want to make my blog personal but, just so you know, I am speaking from experience. My college sweetheart & ex-fiance was in the NFL; thus, I was also "in' the NFL for 6 years, from the combine, through the draft, through cuts by teams and all the other "stuff" that goes on in professional sports.
My first taste of the NFL was when we were in college and a very prominent agent gave my then-boyfriend (lets call him "X") a condom as his business card. The sticker that overlapped the Trojan horse logo said, "We Protect Our Players." Another agent offered to provide X with as many girls as he wanted, even though the agent knew X had a girlfriend, me.
Out of the 3 ESPN stories, the one about Leigh Steinberg bothers me most. A player's agent is his representative; Mr. Steinberg is one of the most prominent sports agents in the world. He was even the inspiration for "Jerry Maguire!" Mr. Steinberg is the AGENT and ATTORNEY of over 150 athletes in his 30-year career. His wikipedia bio says, "Steinberg insists that every contract negotiated for his players include clauses that require the athlete to give back to their hometown, high school, university or national charities and foundations. According to Steinberg, this allows the athlete to function as a positive role model by repaying the community that helped shape him."
Regardless of Mr. Steinberg's "requirements" of his clients, he has managed to get himself into some trouble of his own lately. On Oct 22, 2008, he was arrested for public intoxication. In April 2007, he was arrested for DUI after driving into 3 parked cars. In 1997, he was arrested for DUI after causing an accident and injurying a person. Essentially, Mr. Steinberg has a documented 10-year history of a disregard of the law.
Who do you think Mr. Steinberg is associating with during his drunken escapades? I would bet that he's surrounded by players (current and former), and other associates in professional sports. (Surely, those who really cared about him wouldn't allow him to behave in such a manner.) Mr. Steinberg doesn't just have the ordinary duty of an ordinary attorney. Mr. Steinberg has an ENHANCED DUTY because he represents professional athletes. Not that professional athletes are better than anyone else, but they are held to a higher standard than the ordinary individual.
The AGENT is supposed to be the guy who represents the player in the best light. The AGENT is the guy who makes a statement on behalf of his client after the player gets into trouble. The AGENT is the guy who is supposed to call the player into his office and tell him how to act decently and stay out of trouble. The AGENT must live up to the same standards that professional teams have required of their players. The AGENT must practice what he preaches. And most importantly, if he has an addiction, he must seek help.
PROBLEM: SOME ATHLETES' BLATANT DISREGARD OF ACCOUNTABILITY
And in the same week as Steinberg's arrest, Kansas City Chiefs player Larry Johnson was suspended and fined by the NFL after he was arrested for assault after spitting a drink at a woman. (Link to story above.) Just like Mr. Steinberg, this isn't Larry's first run-in with the law. In February 2007, he was arrested for pushing a woman's face at a bar. In September 2005, he was arrested for domestic abuse assault after getting into a fight with his girlfriend. Allegedly, he has been arrested a 4th time in the past 5 years as well.
As a first-hand witness to the life of a professional athlete, it is disappointing to see many children's (and adults') role models continue to have a blatant disregard of the law and of common decency and respect. There is a website, www.thesportscritic.com that has a page solely devoted to listing all athletes and their arrests. This is embarassing.
Leah Steinberg: 3 arrests. Larry Johnson: 4 arrests.
When will professional sports really clean up its act? I mean, REALLY CLEAN IT UP?!? Clearly, a punishment here and a fine there isn't the way to solve this problem. Core values must be instilled in the players upon their entry into professional sports. Instead, many agents set poor examples at the very moment the player leaves college, by displaying a disrespect for women and a disregard of the law. The athletes are preyed-upon as cash-cows and little attention is given to societal standards. I am not saying that an agent should be held fully accountable for his client; we are talking about grown men here. But, the professional player who hits a female at a bar, may also be the guy who, 5 years prior and right out of college, was provided strippers by his agent.
www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com
Monday, October 26, 2009 at 08:00AM 
Steve Phillips with ESPN Assistant and Mistress Brooke Hundley
Brooke Hundley (NY Daily News)No wonder why he called it off with her.