Is Dwight just another modern day athlete?

[SmackDaddy 30]

Now that we are all intimately aware of the details of Tiger's indiscretions and the negative impact it is having on his once inpenetrable persona, it got me thinking - is our mild mannered yet charasmatic, self-professed beacon of Christianity Dwight Howard now himself tip-toeing the line between the pure & respectable kid we had grown accustomed to and the contaminated & insolent type of athelete that now seems to permeate sports?

 

As a kid, the world was first introduced to Dwight on a bigger stage playfully donning a Superman outfit for the dunk contests. No biggie. He just likes to have fun we thought. But to the tune of a song advocating supersoaking a ho? No longer an active member of weekly Bible Study in ATL, perhaps we could have assumed that Dwight naively thought that "supersoaking a ho" was a baptismal ritual. Or, maybe it was our first glimpse at Dwight's response to being sheltered and the eventual tarnishing of his soul.

 

But one isolated event certainly does not warrant undeserved negative attention or criticism. So we gleefully continued to accept Dwight for the ideals he claimed to represent.

 

Then came our next glimpse into Dwight's ever evolving persona and this time it was a massive shocker. Dwight, we still thought uncharacteristically, had indeed supersoaked a ho. But by impregnating his baby mama out of wedlock, Dwight began to draw yet a few more disappointed glances. Was Kid Christianity beginning to succomb to the pressures of stardom, and the toll it seems to take on all willing and unwilling participants? Or was this merely an immature gaffe perpetrated by a very likable and repentent young man, that much like his Lord and savior, would resurrect his image?

 

Some time passed, and all the discouraging news melted away when one after another of Dwight's magnetic smiles was flashed before us. Surely we had been too quick to pass judgement and should have instead taken our cue from the Bible that Dwight carried near to his heart and foregiven him for his transgressions.

 

As quickly as the Magic had overtaken the NBA as dynamic darlings of destruction, rumors began swirling about Dwight again. This time, Mr. Howard was linked to meetings (aghast) with a porn star. Fast forward a couple months and Dwight is taped during a live NBA game saying he is going to "F%#k UP" an opponent. Another month down the road and even more news surfaces painting Dwight in a less than enviable light. His Baby Mama is back on the front page accusing Dwight of being an absentee dad.

 

So I raise the question posed in the title of this thread, but as many of you might have thought it has nothing to do with his prowess on the court and instead everything to do with his imperfections in life. Is this what should be expected of all modern day athletes - even those that supposedly hold themselves to higher standards? Are even the Tiger Woods' and Dwight Howards' that are splattered all over ESPN, major brand commercials, etc subject to failure, or will the media machine that has built them into iconic status also inevitably lead them down the path of eventual destruction?

[Crazyhorse81 246]

Solid post man, we'll have to see if Dwight can handle the spotlight....

[Captain Hi-Top 791]

I think you are seeing a kid who was semi sheltered growing up, being forced to deal with an ugly world that perhaps he wasn't fully prepared for...

 

I think his "I'mma **** up" an opponent comment was actually warranted. I also have to reserve judgement on the whole "child out of wedlock" thing. I mean, do we know what happened? Maybe she was manipulative and tried to get where she wants to be by snagging Dwight in this fashion. None of us know, so it's difficult to judge. This goes for her new claims as well.

 

I don't see much wrong with his behavior from this standpoint. I think the bigger issue is the perception that it's okay to hold these atheletes to higher standards for the simple reason that they excel athletically.

[Sir Raven 12]

There is a diffrence between seeing someone play the game and what he does in his life..

[SmackDaddy 30]

quote:

Originally posted by echo4papa:

I think the bigger issue is the perception that it's okay to hold these atheletes to higher standards for the simple reason that they excel athletically.

 

While I agree with your point, I was trying to make a separate point. What happens when athletes like Dwight, Tebow, Tiger, etc publicize that they hold themsleves to higher standards?

 

As for Dwight's baby mama maybe being manipulative, that has nothing to do with his decision to have unprotected sex. Babies rarely happen when contraception is used properly.

 

And yes, his remark during that game is justified if you simply look at it in the context of the heat of the moment. But again, Dwight has led us to believe that he is a different breed of athlete, so when he falters it magnifies his transgressions.

[Captain Hi-Top 791]

quote:

Originally posted by SmackDaddy:

quote:

Originally posted by echo4papa:

I think the bigger issue is the perception that it's okay to hold these atheletes to higher standards for the simple reason that they excel athletically.

 

While I agree with your point, I was trying to make a separate point. What happens when athletes like Dwight, Tebow, Tiger, etc publicize that they hold themsleves to higher standards?

 

As for Dwight's baby mama maybe being manipulative, that has nothing to do with his decision to have unprotected sex. Babies rarely happen when contraception is used properly.

 

And yes, his remark during that game is justified if you simply look at it in the context of the heat of the moment. But again, Dwight has led us to believe that he is a different breed of athlete, so when he falters it magnifies his transgressions.

 

Just because someone holds themselves to higher standards doesn't mean they don't falter at times (or several times now that Tigers number is up to what, 18? lol). I think it's more telling to see how they react to the adversity when something does happen. As far as Tiger goes, I think it's become quite clear that someone is a bit of a hypocrite.

 

As far as his "baby's momma". Being manipulative could have had a great deal to do with his decision to have unprotected sex. It could be the sole reason, as a matter of fact. Like I said, we don't know what happened there, so it's difficult to judge or blame in that case.

 

As far as his on air remark, and being a different breed of athelete, well, I think he has shown thus far that he is. Again, that doesn't mean he is without fault. Personally, I didn't find that example to be terribly offensive, out of place, nor a pock on his character.

[MagicfanNmaine 0]

quote:

Originally posted by SmackDaddy:

"Dwight, we still thought uncharacteristically, had indeed supersoaked a ho. But by impregnating his baby mama out of wedlock."

 

So I raise the question posed in the title of this thread, but as many of you might have thought it has nothing to do with his prowess on the court and instead everything to do with his imperfections in life. Is this what should be expected of all modern day athletes - even those that supposedly hold themselves to higher standards? Are even the Tiger Woods' and Dwight Howards' that are splattered all over ESPN, major brand commercials, etc subject to failure, or will the media machine that has built them into iconic status also inevitably lead them down the path of eventual destruction?

 

 

Lol on that one line about the supersoaker. Hilarious.

 

I do remember as well Dwight being that good natured bible kid. For those of us who watched the horrendous season in which we landed the first pick to get Dwight. I'm sure many of us watched the draft that night. I know I did.

 

When he came into the league I remeber him saying things like he wated to eventually put the cross on the NBA logo. That I never agreed with but it did show to me what type of person he was.

 

I still believe that he is a great guy and all he's going through is a period of feeling on top of the world. He's young, lots of $, fame, girls. On top of all that he has the **** media all over him. So anything negative is going to get blown up while positive stuff will stay with the NBA Cares commercials.

 

To answer your last question Smack I believe the media can lead to a path of destruction. It's possible but it's up to him to get over it. From what I see he's a humble person and that right there in the long run I think will pay off for him. By the time he's 30 I think a lot of the negative stuff will be gone as they(the media) seem to back off the veterans.

[ApexTurbo 6]

Ok really this was the longest post to make a one sentence question that i have ever seen. Could have just said, Is Dwight's out of wedlock child proof that he is not the positive christian role model that some claims he is?

 

The answer however becomes difficult to gage with the change of times. Just having sex out of wedlock is wrong in terms of Bible. The way our society treats out of wedlock sex seems to have evolved greatly over the past 50 years. Now I saw the comment it was wrong because it was unprotected. NO it was wrong to have had sex out of wed lock! Not that it was unprotected.

 

The theory that the out of wedlock child is wrong is all based upon Christianity. If we look at our current society and what is important in my mind most would say the out of wedlock child is a fairly common thing.

 

As for me a Christian. If I had a child I would consider Dwight thus far a fine athlete for my kid to look up to.

[Drain-O 369]

Sex sells and that has never been more prevalent in our media than now.

 

Tiger Woods has spent countless hours building his foundation and giving back but you never hear that on the news.

 

Yet he cheats on his wife and it is the lead story on ESPN, ET, etc. for the last 2 weeks.

 

Dwight Howard has done tremendous things in his young career including his charitable work as well and yet I bet a story about him having a child out of wedlock would get 1000 times more hits than a story about him reading books to children in Africa.

 

I do not know if it plays into our jealous tendencies or what but I think the media knows that the population as a whole wants to tear these guys down or humanize them. If our "heros" have flaws we feel our flaws are okay as well.

 

I do not mind what Tiger, Dwight or anyone else does in their personal life because it is just that: personal.

 

I guess it really depends on what you want out of your athlete. Having 3 kids I do not expect anyone on TV to raise them or be a role model to them. That is my job.

[~O~ 565]

I guess we can call a guy who can call a guy that can jump 12 and a half feet in the air a modern athlete.

[Captain Hi-Top 791]

quote:

Originally posted by Drain-O:

 

Tiger Woods has spent countless hours building his foundation and giving back but you never hear that on the news.

 

Yet he cheats on his wife and it is the lead story on ESPN, ET, etc. for the last 2 weeks.

 

 

I think this is an extreme example of Smack's point. How often have youheard Tiger talking about family values?

 

http://blogs.trb.com/features/..._the_death_of_f.html

 

That was just prior to his car crash and family issues that ignited this whole scandal. I think he opened himself up to some of this reaction by putting himself out there and talking about things the way he did.

 

I think Dwight is different. I think he means well, has made some mistakes, but I don't think his transgressions will ever be on the level of what we have seen recently from Tiger.

[SmackDaddy 30]

quote:

Originally posted by apexturbo:

Ok really this was the longest post to make a one sentence question that i have ever seen. Could have just said, Is Dwight's out of wedlock child proof that he is not the positive christian role model that some claims he is?

 

It has gone further than that though. There are rumors that he was chasing around some porn star. And according to the claims made by the baby mama, he isn't even a positive role model for his own child.

 

While I don't personally condemn Dwight for his actions, I do find them questionable. Which is the point of the thread. To guage others' reactions. Also because this was already an ongoing discussion between my friends and I, I sort of wanted to branch out and get a wider array of opinion.

 

FYI, one of my friends is pissed at Dwight for carrying the torch of Christianity and then seemingly discarding it. He thinks Dwight will become yet another malcontent, self-absorbed, all about the bling, rims, and booze superstar.