This was not originally intended to be today’s blog post; I was going to write about a city government scandal. However, a story associated with the impeding arrest of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in regard to his alleged connection to a homicide, has gotten me so glued to the issue of choices and 
consequences that I must share my thoughts with you. Sports ethics in action unfolding here.
It is important to say that this blog is not about Aaron Hernandez. I have no idea of his guilt or innocence and certainly, the Internet is not the place to judge a person.
As America is prone to media frenzies, it is no wonder that the media has descended on the town where Mr. Hernandez lives, North Attleboro, Massachusetts. The media, doing what it does, was interviewing any resident of North Attleboro it could find. They happened upon a mother and teenage daughter and asked them as to whether they thought Mr. Hernandez was guilty.
The mother said she hoped he was innocent and that it wouldn’t hurt the team. The daughter punctuated the mother’s statement by saying, “Go Pats! Woo-hoo!”
The daughter was doing what young people mostly do – being young. The mom was doing what fans do: thinking of the issue in terms of hurting a team. The issue is not about the team, it is about how we view our teams and our celebrities. I want to talk to the athletes and to nearly everyone who claims a certain amount of fandom. We’ll get to fans at a later date!
It’s Only a Spotlight
In my role as a speaker, teacher, mentor and, I hope, a friend. I meet a huge number of people. I have made the acquaintance of professional athletes, coaches, CEO’s, high-level executives, actors; you get the picture.
I have seen some of you in the spotlight. You speak to those in your corporations or you play a sport on a national stage or perform on a television show or talk about some amazing piece of software or even a surgical procedure you have performed. I have looked about the room or stadium or lecture halls; your audiences are filled with adulation. I know that kind of stuff can fill you with life and elevate you to levels you’ve never known before. It almost seems as though you are an impervious and impenetrable force where nothing and no one can harm you.
Some of you, a hopefully very small percentage of you, may at times be thinking that you can do just about anything unethical and get away with it. You may possibly feel that there will always be fans or adoring colleagues or peers surrounding you with “high-fives,” handshakes and hugs. I have been there, so let me give you the best piece of advice anyone has ever given to you: you are about to fall.
No Soft Landing
I tell my story in painful detail every time I lecture. I went from being a somebody to wearing hand-cuffs and a prison jump suit. At one time I “owned” a modest spotlight; it went out the minute I appeared in court. I lost friends, associates, status and pride all because I made terrible decisions.
It took me years to re-establish myself. People tell me that my message is inspirational. I talk to large groups and small and I have helped people who are about to make mistakes take stock of themselves. I acknowledge the attention, the questions and even the tears when someone asks me for advice.
But I realize that the spotlight is an illusion. The adoring fans are an illusion. Mr. Hernandez will not land softly but neither will a CIO or a hitting coach or the Chief of Surgery or football conference official who commits an unethical or illegal act.
The New England Patriots will survive this year whether undefeated or winless. They are, after all, a multi-billion dollar organization. The fans, such as the teenager and her mother will still be fans, just as employees or adoring colleagues or peers will be there to follow somebody else. It is, after all, what fans do.
But as for the person who ignores the consequences, the warmth of the spotlight will turn cold as ice; as cold as the looks your one-time friends will give you, or the metal bars of a prison cell.
YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!