ESPY’s Icon Award

[dropcap background=”yes”]I[/dropcap]’m looking for a comment here from Rob Kelley because I have a feeling he may agree.

I was watching the ESPY’s and they had an Icon Award where Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, and Abby Wambach were featured. Peyton, Kobe, and Abby…let us not forget…

 

Peyton Manning’s HGH

From May ’16

The network said shipments of human growth hormone were made to Manning’s home as he recovered from a career-threatening neck injury. In the piece, a former pharmaceutical intern at an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic was caught on a hidden camera saying he had knowledge Manning and other athletes used performance-enhancing drugs.

 

Abby Wambach’s DUI

From April ’16

Portland police said Wambach, 35, was pulled over at 11:05 p.m. local time Saturday after failing to stop for a red light. She was arrested after failing a field sobriety test and was taken to Portland’s Central Precinct, where she failed a breath test.

Wambach was booked at 2:02 a.m. local time Sunday and charged with misdemeanor DUII (driving under the influence of intoxicants), according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. She was released on her own recognizance and was described as being “polite and cooperative” with police.

 

Kobe’s Sexual Assault

From July ’03 – Read my indepth article on Kobe for a better look but here’s the skinny:

The Kobe Bryant sexual assault case began in July 2003 when the news media reported that the sheriff’s office in Eagle, Colorado had arrested professional basketball player Kobe Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault complaint filed by Katelyn Faber, a 19-year-old hotel employee. Bryant had checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera, a hotel in Edwards, Colorado, on June 30 in advance of having surgery near there on July 2 under Dr. Richard Steadman. Faber accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room on July 1, the night before the surgery.

 

An Icon Award?!?!?!

Icon – a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something.

How soon we forget. I get it though. Hype them up to forget about the bad shit. It makes perfect sense but it’s undeserved. I immediately thought of these instances and even mean tweeted Abby Wambach.

Anyone else think @AbbyWambach deserves no honorable anything?

— Tom Stortz (@rnningfool) July 14, 2016

I’m not saying these men don’t deserve these awards. Their careers are unbelievable but I don’t think this award should be given to people who violate society’s rules. Does Lance Armstrong deserve this award or did he cross that line? What about Barry Bonds? I have no idea whether this was around back then but I promise you they wouldn’t be candidates because they don’t fit the bill. Just because it’s the choir boy Peyton Manning or the determined Kobe Bryant doesn’t mean that we should be putting them on the pedestal. These people had great careers and I don’t take any credit away from it but they aren’t worthy of this bullshit award that ESPN is using to praise them. Completely fucked up and I don’t respect them more for this award. They should have declined it.