Are Football Heroes More Concerned With Fame and Fortune Than Fair Play?
Paris. When did the words “fair” and “play” get divorced? Theatrical deceit in football, faked injuries in rugby, even disturbing allegations in Formula One that Renault may have orchestrated a dangerous crash so that its two-time world champion Fernando Alonso could win last year’s Singapore Grand Prix. And that’s just of late. Cheating, of course, has existed since cavemen started competing for the best hunks of flesh from speared prey. But was it ever so cynical? Blame the pressures of money, of coaches, of television, of fans, blame whatever. But somehow, somewhere, too many of those in sports — at their own cost — seem to be forgetting the examples set by chivalrous predecessors like Gottfried von Cramm, the two-time French Open tennis champion who was famed for both his sportsmanship and his ferocious second serve. This was a player who would apologize when called for foot faults and once refused a Davis Cup match point because he felt he had won undeservedly. Perhaps it’s naive
