Modern sport makes it hard for players to vent frustration

Well written article. Definitely agree that swearing as become part and parcel of 21st century sport. Any time you see a replay of a player who missed a goal it's always met with a lip-readers field day of "f--k" and all it's variants. Context is definitely an issue.

you're right before it referred to wood or a type of meat dish now it is the harshest derogatory slur for Homosexual. But hey keep the hate fires burning

Also worth noting when getting pious on better use of the money - the fines have to go to a chartiable organisation, it si part of the CBA for the NBA, which would be targeted at low income areas in the US and devleoping antions with a strong basketball presence. Maybe you don't think that is worthwhile or grass roots enough?

Are you referring to me? I meant that it is incredibly offensive, and to merely describe it as colourful when it is much worse than the average swear word is just plain silly.

Fussball - The problem with Rooney is that he didn't say to the camera "You F.... beauty" after he scored in an act of enjoyment. He said "F... Off" and then just in case the camera's didn't catch it, he said it again with a real anger in his face. His timing couldn't have been worse as they had launched a new "respect" campaign that week.

I shook my head with amazement at the Rooney incident. No, it wasn't Rooney's words that had me astonished - swearing on the sporting field is nothing new - but, it was the FA's reaction to the swearing. What has gone wrong with the world that we need to regulate every single thing people do? Was anyone hurt as a result of Rooney's behaviour? I would say NO. And, to me, that should be the basic foundation upon which our lives are regulated. Basically, if a person's behaviour is not affecting another person's enjoyment of life, in my opinion, regulators should stay the hell out of our lives. There is a philosophical conundrum which asks: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" to which I'll add a sporting conundrum: "If a sports person behaves inappropriately, but no cameras capture this behaviour ... will it still be deemed 'inappropriate behaviour' worthy of a sanction?"

I understand what your saying but sport stars are labelled role models because they are good at what they do and for the most part thats all that kids see. To use your example of George Best how many 8 year olds would have gone to Old Trafford to watch their hero Georgie Best play. Why was he their hero? He was their hero because he ran rings around his opponents and put balls in the back of the net. I don't know many 8 year olds that pick up the newspaper, so the likely hood of many of them knowing about a lot of his antics is slim. Have you ever been to Old Trafford on match day? On the way to the stadium there is George Best merchandise everywhere. United fans to this day hold him in such high regard for his FOOTBALL achievements. Yes he was a train wreck off the field but no one can take away what he produced in the 470 games he played for the red devils. Talk to a liverpool supporter and they will probably tell you he was scum and no role model, but at the end of the day isnt a role model someone you look up to, who inspires you for whatever reason? So for that reason a united player is obviously never going to be a role model to anyone at Anfield. Every little football fan dreams of being a professional footballer so to every little united fan from 1963 -1974 he was their role model. Wayne Rooney has been in the papers this year for swearing straight into a Sky Sports tv camera, and for sleeping with prostitutes and cheating on his wife. Now as an adult we would look at that and say he is not an example of what you want any child to grow up to act like, but it doesn't change the fact that little Manchester United fans all over the world still worship the ground he walks on. He scores goals, and wins matches and young football fans world wide still aspire to be Wayne Rooney. I understand why you called them fantasy figures, but I called them all role models because that is exactly what they are in every newspaper. 9/10 articles published in the past 2 weeks about Rooney swearing on camera mention him as a disgraceful role model or some form of comment to that affect. All professional athletes that are at the top of their game are role models in our society because first and foremost they possess an amazing talent for sport which consequently means that anyone with an invested interest in that particular sport wants to be just like them. But at the end of the day call them fantasy figures or role models they win us premierships, medals, trophies, they set the bar and re set the bar over and over to further the standard of "elite". They are super humans that everyone wishes they could be.

I have to take issue with one thing you said. That modern sports stars are "seen as role models, whether they like it or not". I think that part of the charm of many of the greatest sportsmen, and women, is not that they were role models but that they were figures of fantasy. A role model is somebody you aspire to emulate; a fantasy figure is somebody you can only dream of emulating. Some years ago when the great soccer player George Best died, many of the copious discussions in the media about his legacy featured some disapproving tut tutting about his poor example and his potential to be a damaging role model. He was, after all, a hopeless alcoholic, a prolific philanderer and the possessor, at one stage, of an enthusiastic gambling habit, who had effectively quit the game way before his time. Although he continued to come back for minor teams in the US, Scotland and the lower leagues of England he essentially hit his peak in the European Cup Final of 1968, a few days after his 22nd birthday. His famous self-deprecatory story, possibly apocryphal, which he used to sum up his life was the one where he ordered breakfast to be delivered to his hotel room after a heavy night on the town. The waiter arrived to see Best sitting up in bed drinking champagne from the mini bar, the floor strewn with cash won at the casino and the reigning Miss World emerging from the shower and asked: "George. Where did it all go wrong?" The point about players like Best was that he COULDN'T be a role model. You watched him play and asked "How the hell did he do that?" You noticed that he, er, entertained (as one newspaper euphemistically put it) not one but FOUR Miss Worlds, and you compared that with your inability to impress the mildly attractive girl from down the road. There was nothing you could do to behave like George Best because you just didn't have the talent. Or the looks. Or the engaging personality. And, mercifully, most of us didn't have the addictive traits which ruined his health and career. Other sportsmen who were fantasy figures were Shane Warne. Or David Campese. People whose careers were built on an inimicable talent which few possess. Their behaviour sometimes brought them criticism, but people didn't like them for their infidelities or their big mouths; people liked them in spite of that. Sportsmen like Roy Keane, or Sean Fitzpatrick, or Steve Waugh, to name but three: now they're role models. Whatever walk of life you are in you could observe them and say "I can do that. I can do what makes them great." Ruthless single-minded pursuit of the task in hand? I can do that. Demand high standards from those around me? I can do that. Weed out any shirkers or slackers? I can do that. Never give the opposition an inch? I can do that Resist any attempt by regulators or authorities to reign me in? I can do that. Break the legs of anyone who crosses me? I can do that. Have no friends at work? I can do that. Of course sport needs its hard headed achievers and task masters. But it also needs its fantasy figures. Otherwise we might as well give up and watch the suits for our "entertainment." If you don't want to hear players swearing, then just turn the mikes off.

Wasn't it former Bombers coach Matthew Knights, who got fined (or just warned) just for death staring the umpires from a distance after a loss? Or did I just dream that up?

I'm pretty sure it still means the same thing!

Is the referee gay? The term "f****t" just doesn't mean what it use to mean. You old folk need to get with the times.

If you want to actually stop them, suspend them. Kobe should have been. If a white player had called a black referee the 'n' word, he would have been.

Football United, I don't know what conversations you partake in, but the rest of society doesn't condone using that word. You're right, times change. Perhaps you should too, and get out of the dark ages. Bigotry belongs back there, as does using that slur.

Completely agree with amazonfan, if he wouldve said "f****ing idiot" then it wouldnt be a big deal. Generic swear words might be accepted by most in society now, but words like F****t are still off-limits, and rightly so. Even Kobe recognised this, in his press conference about it he said that even though he didnt mean it in that way, what he said was wrong and it was on him.

Anyone who thinks the word "f.....g" isn't colorful surely needs to do their research!! Good article and point well made

Yes I understand that he was fined for his homophobic slur and I wasn't condoning his behaviour merely making the point that punishing these athletes with fines (in his case $100 000) doesn't make a difference. It gets paid to the NBA and the money will be lost somewhere in the system. There is no point in punishing swearing to make an example of it because as long as these athletes are emotionally invested in their sport, these things will continue to happen in the heat of the moment. As Kobe himself said after the match, "My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone.” I was trying to illustrate that this type of behavior will always be present in sport not matter what disciplinary action is taken. I was then suggesting that as these sport stars are perceived as role models to the community and are expected to act in certain way, hence why they are fined for these actions in the first place, that the money should therefore to given to the people they are role models too. That is the young fans, because at the end of the day that is who they have wronged. Kobe also said after the game, “The concern that I have is for those that follow what I say and are inspired by how I play, or look to me as a role model or whatever it is, for them not to take what is said as a message of hate or a licence to degrade or embarrass or tease.” I therefore think the athletes should be ordered to pay their fine directly to grassroots sport, as this is where it will most beneficial. My article was not in anyway condoning what Kobe Bryant said, as I too think it was out of line. However I don't think that fines and match bans will do anything to stop swearing, racial insults or homophobic slurs coming out on the sports field because they are (like it or not) used by people in everyday language and most often that not, they are used outside of there original meaning. To a less offensive word as an example, gay is now used by kids everyday as a substitue for the word lame or something they think is uncool.

the word f****t is no longer regarded as a homophobic slur in todays conversation.. times change. when stephanie rice put her thing on twitter, it was blown out of proportion in the media even though she was definitely not being homophobic. people are too sensitive. Its sport, high stakes are being played and people swear when they are frustrated.

This piece would be more convincing if you did your research. Kobe wasn't fined merely for swearing. He was fined for calling the referee a '"f---ing f****t", with the emphasis on the second word. There is a MASSIVE difference. The word f****t is homophobic, and a term of abuse. To describe it as 'colourful language' is absurd. I don't care how frustrated he was, he crossed a line when he used that word. Now, I'm not alleging that he is homophobic, but just as with a white player calling a black referee a n....r, what he said was completely unacceptable. As such I fully support his punishment. BTW, I'm a Lakers fan, and Kobe is one of my favourite players.