Are people who excel in sports more likely to be given a break?

When looking at a topic such as this one. You need to ask yourself the following questions: Are athletes given special privileges? Do those with more power than the players affect the outcome of an athlete? Over time, athletes have been helped but there also has been people that were not helped, chosen to take the fall.

Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden are two men that seem to be given every chance in the world. They repeatedly have been suspended by MLB. And they repeatedly get let back in to play again. They are two examples of stars being allowed to play after serious offenses.

Shoeless Joe Jackson was supposedly involved in the Black Sox’s scandle of 1919. They said that he took a bribe to throw the series, but he played his heart out in that series. Joe hit the only home run and batted .375 to lead all players. But he was still black listed by the Major Leagues and stricken from the record books. Joe wasn’t involved in the throwing of the series, but found guilty mostly to save Mr. Comiskey’s good name. Pete Rose bet on baseball that is known. But he still swears that he never bet on his own team. When he was caught he was banned from baseball. It was a serious offense but it seems minor in all that athletes get away with today. He bet on baseball, he should be punished, but not to allow one of the best baseball players of all-time into the Hall of Fame seems stupid. These two players are two examples of athletes not getting special treatment.

Ray Carruth was sentenced to 19-24 years, convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and shooting to harm an unborn child. This was a case that could go both ways. Did Ray get punished more by the jury because he was an athlete or did he get of easy by not getting murder 1 because he was an athlete. There were many athletes that testified on his behalf. This might have swayed the jurors.

Even on a broader sense other famous people are given second and third chances. Robert Downey Jr. has been arrested countless times, but he keeps on doing T.V. and movies.

But is it the athletes in control or is it the people that pay their salaries. The owners and the boards really decide on how a player is punished. If the player is needed or an all-star, he is more likely to be given a lesser penalty. In the case of Shoeless Ho the owner of the team didn’t let Joe give his testimonies to the court. Joe was the only on of the eight not to do so. If he would have been heard, Mr. Comiskey might have be fined or suspended also.

My opinion on this topic is that athletes are treated differently with their punishments. Professional athletes money plays a large role in their punishments (example O.J. Simpson, he had the money to buy a great team of lawyers). Athletes today are also watched on every major television station. That also helps in the case of a trial. It is likely that the jury will know who the athlete is, possible helping his chances for a not guilty verdict. Athletes are treated differently and will continue to be as long as people allow them to be.