Should Sportsmen be more responsible?

Most sportsmen do very well out of their athletic talent. Footballers, Basketball players and Ice Hockey players are all well paid for their skills often boasting excellent lifestyles backed up by astronomical wages compared to the average working man. Sports betting odds are calculated as we judge their individual and team performances against future expectations, but this is becoming harder to do as these sportsman are becoming more difficult to judge. Loss of form, loss of hunger or simply having too much money to care are possible reasons for this problem, but why are sportsmen falling below standard more and more these days?

Is it because they are so rich at such a young age they start to believe their own hype that they must be amazing if they are rated and paid so highly? If somebody paid me massive money to be a footballer I could not possibly live my life the same way and feel about the game in the same way once all of my financial aspirations had been met and surpassed. Young players trying to break through play the game with a hunger; some would argue desperation, to make the grade. Once that desire is fulfilled can they really muster a genuine hunger for the game from that point? Of course they are talented, but it is not a matter of life or death anymore. This must affect their psyche and will in relation to the sport from then on, even in a small way.

Reading the sport news pages we see there is just as much discussion about players private lives as well as their sporting achievements. They make the news regardless of what they do, but in 2010 there has been a spate of news stories surrounding our young sports stars for all of the wrong reasons.

First there was John Terry, the England captain. He had an affair with the attractive ex-girlfriend of Wayne Bridge who is also the mother to his Bridge’s child. This resulted in the withdrawal of Bridge from international availability at his own request and John Terry losing the captains armband for the international team. This caused sports bettors to analyse the effects of this fall-out and how it affects any bets they were thinking of placing or had placed already on England at this summers World Cup tournament. It seems ridiculous that the antics of one player could upset such an important sporting occasion.

Since then we have had Andy Carroll breaking the jaw of Steven Taylor, which probably does not affect the promotion race now that Newcastle are so far clear in the Championship but many effect next season if Taylor or Carroll is sold or Carroll faces criminal charges (he is already on bail for another assault). Lewis Hamilton was blasted by Australian government officials for irresponsible use of a car and Joe Calzaghe (admittedly retired from boxing) has been forced to admit cocaine use over the weekend and criticised the UK boxers like Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton during an interview that was, he thought, off the record.

For us as sports betting fans, when we consider the odds offered by sports betting websites like bwin.com we must take into account the players personalities. Are they hungry for the game? Do they believe their own hype? Are they worth wagering on in good faith or will they let you as a punter down? These questions are all new ones that must be considered by sports betting fans in an age where young sportsmen are rich long before they are successful.

Perhaps it is the sportsmen themselves who should take a look in the mirror and start acting like the role models they believe themselves to be.

By Malcolm Clarke