Argo Playback...
Column
Geoffrey A. Farrer
Issue date: 11/17/05 Section: Sports
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Sadly, rumors of athletes' infidelity and extramarital affairs have become almost commonplace in professional sports in North America. Yet, because of the personal privacy afforded to high profile athletes and their families, these events rarely make a ripple in the media unless allegations of rape are brought against the player.
And even in instances when a player is charged and brought to trial for sexual assault, a la Kobe Bryant, team and league officials show their allegiances to their star players by allowing them to continue to play the game that has made them revered in the public eye even while standing trial.
So, right or wrong, moral or immoral, if this is the norm in North American professional sports, why in the days leading up to the beginning of the Canadian Football League (CFL) playoffs did a playoff bound team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, force their starting middle linebacker Trevis Smith, to go on the disabled list, not because he was hurt but because he was charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Well, you see, there is another factor that most definitely played into the Roughriders decision, and is sure to generate controversy far beyond the realm of professional football. Smith, who is married, is HIV-positive, a medical condition he kept from his teammates for over a year.
This was only reveled as a public health warning issued by Canadian authorities after they charged him under an aspect of the Criminal Code which states persons with HIV or AIDS who have unprotected sex with an uninformed partner can be charged with sexual assault.
Studies done by the National Football League, during the onset of HIV/AIDS in America during the 1980s and 1990s, found the chance of catching HIV on the field at one in 85 million. Yet, like many of their counterparts in mainstream culture, it appears the fears and preconceived notions of teammates, opponents and fans have won out over 20 odd years of medical findings.
And once again another HIV-positive person, this time in pads and a helmet, finds himself ostracized.
And even in instances when a player is charged and brought to trial for sexual assault, a la Kobe Bryant, team and league officials show their allegiances to their star players by allowing them to continue to play the game that has made them revered in the public eye even while standing trial.
So, right or wrong, moral or immoral, if this is the norm in North American professional sports, why in the days leading up to the beginning of the Canadian Football League (CFL) playoffs did a playoff bound team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, force their starting middle linebacker Trevis Smith, to go on the disabled list, not because he was hurt but because he was charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Well, you see, there is another factor that most definitely played into the Roughriders decision, and is sure to generate controversy far beyond the realm of professional football. Smith, who is married, is HIV-positive, a medical condition he kept from his teammates for over a year.
This was only reveled as a public health warning issued by Canadian authorities after they charged him under an aspect of the Criminal Code which states persons with HIV or AIDS who have unprotected sex with an uninformed partner can be charged with sexual assault.
Studies done by the National Football League, during the onset of HIV/AIDS in America during the 1980s and 1990s, found the chance of catching HIV on the field at one in 85 million. Yet, like many of their counterparts in mainstream culture, it appears the fears and preconceived notions of teammates, opponents and fans have won out over 20 odd years of medical findings.
And once again another HIV-positive person, this time in pads and a helmet, finds himself ostracized.