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The Hot Corner
Every month Sports Media Challenge discusses at least one incident or issue in the world of sports news. Most will be case studies or commentaries prompted by exposure in the news. We especially welcome ideas and comments from sports professionals including athletes, coaches, executives at all levels of sport including professional, collegiate and other amateur ranks. We will periodically include your comments and observations.
Latest Update -- June 14, 2000:
Previous Topics
ByJoe Thompson
June 14 , 2000
Something Happened on the Way
to the Pro Bowl
Ray Lewis' Image Permanently Tarnished Even with Charges Dropped
Isn't it predictable how being in the wrong place at the wrong time can tarnish a sterling career, including that of a professional athlete? That's the start of the sorry story of Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis. On February first, Lewis should have been on the way to his third NFL Pro Bowl in Honolulu. As most now know, he never made it to Hawaii. Instead, Lewis, and two acquaintances were detained by the Atlanta Police Department for their alleged involvement in a double murder. The sorry part is only beginning. Although Lewis vehemently maintained his innocence, reporters assigned to his story portrayed Lewis as yet another professional athlete who believed he was above the rules set for the rest of the world. Following in the fresh footsteps of the questionable conduct of athletes Rae Carruth and John Rocker, Lewis was an easy target for intense scrutiny by the media and general public.
Only now, with the murder charges dropped, do the extent of costly ripple effects become apparent. Lewis' public image was quickly blackened when accusations of his involvement were levied. Something else diminished as well, Lewis' ability to effectively leverage his celebrity in the marketplace. For a long time to come, Lewis, the Ravens and the NFL will be dubiously associated with murder. Though the Lewis trial is over, former NFL player, Rae Carruth's hasn't even begun and the specter of that will dredge up reports on the Lewis allegations all over again. This stigma doesn't exactly motivate sponsors to sign on. The accusation and subsequent guilty plea on obstruction of justice charges presumably could lead to a decline in ticket and merchandise sales and definitely sour public perception. Reputations are notoriously fragile and can be wiped out with a single act or… in many cases, perceived act. The Ravens have steadfastly stuck by their linebacker, however, if Lewis doesn't (for whatever reason) produce on the field as proficiently as in the past, he may prove to be an NFL pariah and subsequent risk regardless of talent.
Will the Lewis name forever be synonymous with murder charges? A businessman from Chicago contemplated that question as he read a USA Today story about Lewis attending mini-camp. "I don't know about that," he said, "I never heard of him before this. The thing I do think of is stupidity! What was he doing there and with those characters? It's just plain stupidity!"
The bottom line for Ray Lewis has to be that murder charges were thrown out. But in the court of public opinion, he was somehow involved. Unfortunately for Ray Lewis sensationalism sells. Ray Lewis' murder charge was front-page news, but the dismissal of murder charges was often buried. Peoples' opinions of Lewis have been shaped by what they know of him. Most people saw USA Today's headline "Ravens' Lewis Charged In Murder," fewer will see the obscure sports section blurb about the charges being changed. Ray Lewis is now mentioned in the same breath with Rae Carruth, "Hurricane" Carter, and O.J. Simpson. Until good deeds become as interesting as bad ones, this outcome will perpetuate itself for scores of other athletes who find themselves facing legal and moral dilemma.
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