With All Due Respect

I guess you would call me "old school." I don't really like having my name and the word "old" mentioned in the same sentence, but, hey, I played in the Super Bowl before it was double-digits. Back then no one could have imagined how that game would grow into the worldwide spectacle it is today. By the way, we lost to the Dolphins in a not-so-close game.

That was a long time ago. I still watch football on TV, but only with mild interest. I'm really not what you would call a fan. I don't root for a particular team or have a favorite player. What I do find interesting -- and upsetting -- is the increasingly negative effect both professional and amateur sports are having on our society. Somehow, somewhere, we have lost our way.

Growing up in New Jersey in the 50's and 60's, I remember going to Yankee Stadium once a year to see a baseball game. I sat mesmerized, watching guys like Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and Whitey Ford. I watched them play hard, play fair, and carry their greatness with a humble dignity. I now realize that none of them were without flaws, but when they stepped onto that field they knew their responsibility as role models for little kids like me up in the stands. And I came away a better person.

Those days are long gone. Most of today's athletes feel that their only responsibility is to perform on the field, and that seems to be just fine to most people.

Well, let me give you a hint: If we continue to give this kind of money, power and influence to athletes based on their ability to throw a ball, or shoot a ball, or hit a ball, and not demand more of them as human beings living in a civilized society, let's just hope that two murder trials is enough for one year.

And don't give me any of that crap about the crime rate in professional sports is no higher than the rest of society. The rest of society doesn't have the social and financial privileges that most athletes have, and I don't think it's wrong to expect more. Maybe they should go out and find a real job and see what it's like to live in the real world.

edmarinaro@sportshollywood.com

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Ed Marinaro

In his three seasons as Cornell's tailback, Ed Marinaro was the all-time leading rusher in Ivy League history. He established eight NCAA career records and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. After turning pro he became a running back for the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. Then he turned to acting and played everyone from Joe Coffey on the classic TV show "Hill Street Blues" to Joey Buttafuoco in "Long Island Lolita." In his off-time he enjoys ranting in his column for SportsHollywood.

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