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Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for swearing at a referee during a LA Lakers game on Tuesday night. He is the latest athlete, amongst a string of high profile sport stars, to be caught using colourful language on live television.
It seems that what was once saved for the locker room, is now making its way into our lounge rooms, as sport stars increasingly vent their frustration through expletives.
Aggravated swearing on the sporting field is nothing new but what is socially accepted in the 21st century is.
The simple fact that Australia’s tourism slogan ten years ago was “Where the bloody hell are you?” illustrates the relaxed culture of our nation.
Our grandparents may turn in their graves, hearing the words ‘bloody hell’ thrown around so easily, but the reality is that modern day conversation has evolved to include profanities.
The dynamic nature in which we are now able to view the sporting field, thanks to High Definition television, allows us to see the raw emotion; the blood, sweat and tears of our sporting stars as they strive for excellence.
This development in technology means that the camera can now capture everything, including the swearing mouths of athletes, as they deal with heat-of-the-moment frustration.
At the end of the day, Australians accept this behaviour because we are a passionate sporting nation.
Fans sit at home or in grand stands, yelling all sorts of profanities, as they cheer on their team through the highs and lows of a match, however it’s the actions of the profile athletes that the camera is interested in.
The modern sport star is given the label “role model” whether they like it or not.
It is this status as a role model that splashes their name in headlines the moment they step out of line.
Wayne Rooney was reprimanded two weeks ago for directly swearing down the lens of a television camera during an English Premier League football match.
His actions were slandered in newspapers for days resulting in the FA handing him a disciplinary two-match ban.
Rooney’s vulgar rant was extreme, but the way that the media and non-sporting profiles often blow similar situations out of context is unnecessary.
These athletes are professionals because they are the best at what they do; they have a passion for sport and a driving determination to perform every time they compete.
To reprimand professional athletes for swearing takes the emotion out of sport and at the end of the day, $100,000 is pocket change to the likes of Kobe Bryant.
If the point of fining these athletes were to set an example to young fans, would it not be more beneficial for stars to directly pay their fine into the development of grassroots sports?
I’m sure that kids looking up to these athletes would get a lot more out of having brand new training equipment than they would watching their favourite team get beaten on the weekend because the star player is serving a match-ban.
At the end of the day, swear words have been accepted in our culture as expressive adjectives. As long as athletes and fans continue to be passionate, swearing will always be present in the modern world of sport.
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