The recent media circus surrounding two big sports stories – namely Lance Armstrong and Manti T’eo – puts another exclamation point on the page of the paradoxical era we’re living in.
Namely, an era of expected transparency coupled with a win-at-all-cost framework guiding and shaping decisions down to the very last tweet. Given the circumstances under which these stories came to life, is anyone honestly surprised?
Lance even said it himself: he was operating in a win-at-all-cost culture. He believed he was invincible. Above the law of mere mortals. Notre Dame football (along with other big name college programs around the country) operates under a similar mantra. When so much money, ego, and pride is at stake, some human beings – no matter how moral, religious, or good – become victims of that insatiable machine.
I don’t condone the behavior of either man, but from an objective standpoint, what they did fits into a greater context of human behavior that really isn’t that unprecedented. Lies, deception, denial…these negative human behaviors are nothing new and get people into hot water year after year. And year after year, hordes of adoring fans for the people in high places who commit these common and flawed human acts respond predictably:
“I’m shocked!”
“How could fill-in-the-blank have done this to me?”
“I had a feeling something was up.”
The truth is, all of us are always in some form of deception, whether towards others or ourselves. (I would argue the greater number is in the latter category.) Sometimes that deception is conscious (as with Lance Armstrong) and sometimes it isn’t (in so many ways, Manti T’eo was a victim of his own naiveté).
The unrelenting pressure to perform at superhuman levels has never been higher. What begins as a simple way of saving face escalates into a maelstrom of questions, outrage, and hurt feelings.
The lesson from these two sports stars seems to be this: when your transgression raises suspicion, first cover up, deny, and cover up some more until the shell cracks under the pressure and Truth emerges. Then, and only then, publicly apologize like crazy and seek redemption and forgiveness as best you can (or by sitting down with Oprah). This is the point at which the hero is born again, and only time will tell if he takes the opportunity to work on healing the pain he caused – or not.
Nature proves that incubation periods can only last so long. Lance Armstrong may hold the record at denying the doping accusations for more than seven years. Manti T’eo’s trial by fire was much shorter lived. Chances are, however, there are plenty of other seemingly dormant eggs of deception hidden away out there in the world of sports, biding their time until heat from one source or another forces them to crack, and then open into the frying pan of public opinion.
Media feeding frenzies aren’t new. Neither are ideals we hold dear about our beloved heroes, both existing and up-and-coming. What is new is the ever increasing number of platforms on which these dramas are viewed, bringing home real-life morality tales to a cross-channel near you.
