Peyton and the Superstar Standard
Today, Peyton Manning, one of the greatest football players ever, retired from the NFL. I’ll give him his due.
But there has also been swirling news accusing him of sexually assaulting a female trainer when he was in college.
He was asked a question about it today at his retirement press conference and his answer was shameful. He sidestepped the question and quoted Forrest Gump…
It’s not like Peyton just called her a bad name (which, by supposedly calling her a bitch, he did as well), he is accused of sexually assaulting her.
That’s a serious question that deserves a serious answer.
I get it. It’s hard to hold him accountable for something he did twenty years ago. Though the testimony from the case begs otherwise.
Instead, lots of fans railed on the female reporter that asked the completely legitimate question on what was supposed to be Peyton’s grand day.
In these situations, why do we, as fans, always rush to defend the superstar athlete, and not the victim?
There are often cover-ups and we always seem to let things slide when they fit our impression of the player (in this case, Peyton’s squeaky clean image). If you’re part of the good old boys club, the good old boys club will protect you.
And we as a society, more often than not, just let it go. And not only that, we enable it.
It’s the superstar standard.
That’s unfair and so misguided. As I grow older, it becomes more and more glaring.
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