The “Tebow Effect!” How Far Will It Reach?

Does character trump talent?

Ben Roethlisberger’s recent, and now habitual, toe stubbing shines light on a particularly sensitive subject:  should character trump talent?  In college and high school sports recruiting, the subject has previously been on the table for discussion, but the boorish behavior of Roethlisberger and scores of other athletes, college and professional alike, continues to push the topic to the forefront.

An historical footnote is necessary.  The first significant character scandal of note in the modern era of college sports was that of the vaunted University of Oklahoma football program of the late 1980’s.  Under the unwatchful eye of head coach Barry Switzer, the program disintegrated from respectful to insolent, seemingly overnight.  After a series of player arrests and on-campus run-ins with the law, Switzer was forced to resign following an OU career which included three NCAA Division I titles and twelve Big Eight Conference crowns.  One infamous Sooner who starred for Switzer, linebacker Brian Bosworth, even wrote an autobiography of his OU experiences called, “The Boz: Confessions of a Modern Anti-Hero.”  Sports Illustrated feature reporter, Rick Reilly, was Bosworth’s co-author.  In a follow-up Q&A a number of years later, Reilly was quoted by The Oklahoman newspaper as saying , “The stuff we talked about that didn’t go in the book could have put away OU for 20 years.  We took out the stuff we thought was too bad for OU, too incriminating.”  Thus, the cover-up continued, and perhaps a golden (or garnet) opportunity to force college athletic programs, if not the NCAA, to openly deal with the “character” issue. 

Fast forward twenty years later and today plenty of problems persist.  Yet, there may be signs college coaches are finally becoming less tolerant of players who as individuals are poor citizens but who as athletes are otherworldly.  Infractions are more publicized and punishments appear to be more considered and severe of late, if not short lived in some cases.  (See University of Tennessee men’s basketball.)   

For now, at least, let’s call it “The Tebow Affect.”  The University of Florida’s Heisman Award winning quarterback has been front and center on the national stage the past four years providing young athletes as well as coaches at every level with an example to admire or shun.  In an April 2010 issue of The Chicago Sun-Times, sports columnist Rick Morrissey wrote, “(Tebow’s) a polarizing figure. Lots of people love him for his wholesomeness and his beliefs. Lots of people gag at the gushiness of those extolling the virtues of St. Tim.”  Still, there is little doubt that with his All-America smile and Bible-verse eye black, Tebow has cast a long shadow across the prep and collegiate landscapes.  

Good or bad, Tebow, and in direct contrast, Roethlisberger, have brought the character issue to a new level of deliberation.  On one hand, when a professional football club (Denver Broncos) will spend a high (and very expensive) draft pick on a “project” because of what he (Tebow) brings to the organization in terms of character, work ethic and potential, people stop, scratch their heads and talk about it.  Not since Bob Hayes was drafted in 1964 in the seventh round for his world-record-setting foot speed, but no football experience, has a professional team taken such an obvious gamble. 

Tebow’s impact on the Broncos is yet to be seen as is his potential influence on the decisions athletes and coaches make in his goodwill wake. On the other side of the coin there’s Roethlisberger who has delivered a knee-buckling blow to the Pittsburgh Steelers institution which prides itself on giving its fans a squeaky-clean, off-the-field image.  For months to come, Big Ben will be scrutinized ad nausea as the quintessential good athlete gone bad if for no other reason than to feed an over inflated ego.        

In the end, the question is:  Will coaches begin to insist on a higher standard of personal behavior in their players or will we witness a continuation of sweep-it-under-the-carpet practices from the past?  Only the character of the coaches will provide that answer.

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