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Introduction: Thoughts on Fame and Infamy
- University Press of Mississippi
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3 IntroductIon Thoughts on Fame and Infamy —DaviD C. ogDen anD Joel nathan Rosen intRoDuCtion Promising beginnings are one thing most notable athletes share. Such athletes often burst on the scene, raising the specter of a new era for their team or sport. As such, these athletes bring with them hopes and aspirations that fans quickly adopt. And as such, athletes become part of the fabric of everyday existence for individuals, families, neighborhoods, and cities. In our first collaboration,Reconstructing Fame,1 we examined athletes who were branded as “outliers” who found community acceptance difficult, if not impossible, early in their careers, though they were afforded such acclaim later in their postcareer lives.Those athletes,like the ones profiled here,found that it is not enough to serve as a conduit through which the community vicariously experiences thrills and triumphs.The athlete is expected to reflect community mores and set a standard for civil behavior.Athletes are expected to be dedicated stewards of the trust and faith fans place in them.So it is little wonder that when an athlete’s promising beginning turns sour, fans and the community take these changes quite seriously and quite personally. The process by which an athlete’s reputation erodes over time is of little interest when compared to the aftermath of that erosion. That aftermath, as portrayed by press and media, usually encompasses the athlete’s betrayal of the public trust and the fans’ emotional investments. Press and media not only convey public disapproval and disappointment but also in some cases exacerbate public frustration with the athlete.Such disappointments are often framed within the athlete’s promising beginnings. Tracing the downward spiral from the pinnacle of the athlete’s career can make the fall from grace, as we have deemed it, seem that much farther, which indeed is the case for the collection of athletes featured in this volume. Kirby Puckett’s domestic violence problems and allegations of sexual assault, for example, turned the once-adored outfielder into a virtual pariah. Wilt Chamberlain ’s self-proclaimed sexual prowess clouded his historic career on the court and turned him into a laughingstock and a symbol of recklessness in a world David C. Ogden and Joel Nathan Rosen 4 seemingly preoccupied with sexual expression and the threat of transmitted disease as well as lingering questions posed by black male sexuality. In some cases, however, the sports figure changed less than the social and cultural forces around him. Branch Rickey’s groundbreaking approaches to building and managing a baseball team became outmoded and ineffective as society and the game changed. Some African Americans publicly chastised Michael Jordan for failing to take advantage of his position and fame to champion civil rights. In the context of the cultural and social zeitgeist, Jordan ’s indifference was considered betrayal.Yet neither Jordan nor Chamberlain nor Puckett nor even the venerable Rickey represent anything completely unexpected in this mounting age of celebrity. In fact, there are times when it becomes (prohibitively) easier to simply assume that one way or another the figurative second shoe is going to drop. The promise of all-encompassing glory quickly morphs into something much less glorious, a tumble in popular perception best exemplified in the very public fall of the once universally adored O. J. Simpson. the JuiCe Came loose If there is one American sports figure who exemplifies the idea of the public crash, it is indeed Orenthal James Simpson, who once held remarkable sway within public discourse. His fall from grace has been so thoroughly dissected and publicly retold that we decided that a chapter devoted to him would offer nothing new. But much as an aging Muhammad Ali embodied the subjects in our first collection, Simpson serves the same purpose in this second goround . Simpson’s acclaimed career saw him make the precipitous leap from college and professional football to popular culture through countless ad campaigns alongside television and feature film appearances. Simpson had seemingly broken the iron barrier that reminded earlier generations that a black man could never move farther forward than the milieu that brought him his initial acclaim would allow. Yet Simpson, with his radiant smile and engaging demeanor, had indeed moved beyond that boundary, gaining an unprecedented degree of celebrity at a time in his career when the majority of once-famous men of color were still expected to make a slow decline into obscurity. Simpson, however, seemed to be made of spun gold, a man with a...