Pistorius - The fall of the sporting hero

Just 6 days ago, Oscar Pistorius tweeted "1 month till my first race of 2013.. Can't wait to burn it up!". What happened in the days that followed was incredible, shocking and unbelievable. As different media sources from all over the world continue to fuel the fire with alleged cricket bats, steroids, drinking problems and phone calls to either condemn or support the 'blade runner', I couldn't help but think about the fall from grace of sporting heroes.

Sportsmen and women have been highly respected role models for a long time. There is something about an honest, true, successful athlete that appears to us somehow correct and reflective of how we should all strive to behave. The great sportspeople are committed, brave and ruthless in action, but gracious in victory and defeat. 

Such is the way that people are drawn to these attributes, it seems that some disgraced athletes can earn forgiveness relatively easily. Tiger Woods has made an extraordinary comeback in terms of his popularity following the issues he had in his private life, and was mainly supported by golf fans despite admitting to an extra-marital affair. It seems that saying sorry can make a big difference on the road to recovery, as was also proved by Marion Jones.


Other athletes have not managed to regain the respect of the people. Lance Armstrong is porbably the best example of this to date (except perhaps OJ Simpson) - it seems unthinkable that Armstrong will ever be looked upon favourably again after his enormous lies and deceit. And if the people no longer look up to the athlete, you can guarantee that the sponsors will be out of there as quickly as possible. Armstrong reportedly lost $75 million in sponsorships in just one day following the doping scandal as partners rushed to dissociate themselves with the cyclist.

And so we wait to see which category Pistorius will fall into. Forgiven or condemned? If convicted the answer is straightforward. But if he is cleared, will the public see this as enough to continue viewing him as a role model, someone to amaze and inspire? Or will his reputation remain tarnished forever even if this tragedy was a simple freak accident? These days the title 'sporting hero' is a very fragile one to bear.