Rocking out,
Ok so the Bulls' Derek Rose, the NBA Rookie of the Year, recently denied all allegations of knowingly having someone else take his SAT examination for him when he was attending Simeon High School in Chicago. Allegedly this was done so that he could be certain to get a high enough mark to attend Memphis the following Fall. Let's just think about that for a second. . . . . . . .
If he needed someone to help him get into Memphis maybe he would have been better off playing in Europe for a year like Brandon Jennings, but that is just stupid in my eyes. In any case I know in my heart of hearts that Rose is smart enough to have achieved a high enough score, but whether or not he had the time or the motivation to do so I can not say. Over the past several years many professional athletes and others involved have been brought under the media spotlight for accusations of ethical or lawful misconduct. As a sports fan I spend a lot of my time watching a variety of sports and must say that many have disappointed when it comes to ethics. I'll take a quick second to name a few of the more prominent offenders:
-O.J. Simpson (Murder, B&E, Theft, Arrogance Beyond Recognition)
-Pete Rose (Gambling, No Will Power)
-Michael Vick (Dog Fighting, Stupidity)
-Tonya Harding (Conspiracy Theory, Semi-Pro Boxer, Jealousy)
-Manny Ramirez (Steroids, Greed)
-Ray Lewis (Murder, Psycho)
-NBA Referee: Tim Donaghey (Fixing Games, Greed)
-Roger Clemens (Steroids, Douchebag)
-Barry Bonds (Steroids, Oreo)
and honestly as you know the list goes on and on and on. So what can we, the common sports fans, expect and what is no longer realistic? Can these larger than life people accept their roles as examples for younger generations? For those who don't consider themselves responsible for being role models, will greed persist as the central goal?
As I perused ESPN I saw that the University of Memphis just reported on the investigations of the alleged false SAT test and found no evidence of such wrong-doing and reported these same findings to the NCAA. From what I can tell, and what I've seen in the past, nothing will come of this mishap making it even more realistic that these types of situations will continue to surface. Ethically this seems bad, but what about for sports and what about us the fans? Is this a good thing for the professional sports leagues?
For D-Rose it rocks, but for the sanctity of college sports as well as professional athletic entertainment it just continues not to amaze me. I am a cynic and these types of incidences are just common-place enough to wizz by my eyes scrolling the daily sporting news. Unfortunately, I've become so immune to the inconsistencies and malpractices of such iconic superstars that I can no longer enjoy the game(s) in the pure way in which I once viewed them as a child.
As far as Derek Rose is concerned, his life is set. He's a hard working, stand-out kid and if he did have someone take the SATs for him then kudos because that way he had more time to work on his game. In the end, sports fans can either choose to push aside the obvious flaws and live in denial or they can embrace the talent of the next youthful generation as they rise to stardom. For me, Derek Rose gives me a reason to think positively about the Bulls and his antics, true or not, don't bother me. I'd like to think that people would learn from mistakes but very rarely does that occur. He's a professional and must do what is necessary to put himself in the best position to improve and succeed. I say he got er done when he needed to.
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