Sporting Criminal Bodies

     When it comes to big-time athletes, a lot of crimes they are associated with tend to be ones of destruction and personal harm, whether it be drunk driving, domestic violence, murder, robbery, or doping. This disturbing trend amongst athletes has shone a negative light on the sport and the clubs they play for, which raises the question: why do athletes feel that they need to do such acts? Most of them making hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars every year, yet they still feel the need to live a lifestyle that leads them nowhere except in a prison cell or a cemetery.
     I believe a lot of this has to do with the fact that most athletes feel invincible. Here in the U.S., at least, we, the spectators, tend to put athletes on a higher rank in society, and I think that tends to go to the athletes' heads a little too far. Also, because many of the criminal-minded athletes grew up in an area that supports this type of behavior, many of them aren't taught that this type of behavior is unacceptable, and many of them aren't conditioned to live in a civil society. While this isn't the case for all athletes, I believe you could make a valid argument that to a certain extent, this is very true. Take OJ Simpson, for example. One of the best college running backs to have ever played football, couldn't seem to stay out of trouble. After being accused, and acquitted of murder, I honestly believe that he thought he could get away with anything, which lead him to continue down the path of crime. Today, he now sits in a jail cell, probably for the rest of his life because of his continued misbehavior.
     The social problems presented in the evaluation of a sport-crime nexus are that many of these athletes aren't taught at the appropriate age that these actions will lead them nowhere fast. Many of these athletes don't care to learn these lessons at their respective institutions because they seem to be so focused on their sport and making it on the pro stage. Athletes seem to be given a free pass on their way to the professional stage, and aren't properly guided to be able to set themselves up after they retire, which is why we here of many athletes going bankrupt, because they weren't taught the tools necessary to sustain the lifestyle they were living while they were playing.

References

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100942614
http://jss.sagepub.com/content/30/2/180.abstract