END OF THE REAL SUPERSTARS; VALUES OF MEDIA, SPORTS INDUSTRY ERODE POSSIBILITY OF FUTURE ICONS.Byline: David Carter People called David Carter include:
THE retirements of superstars Michael Jordan This article is about the former basketball player. For other uses, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. , Wayne Gretzky Noun 1. Wayne Gretzky - high-scoring Canadian ice-hockey player (born in 1961) Gretzky and John Elway are significant not only because they mark the end of a sports era in the nation, but also because they are seemingly irreplaceable to both sports and society. What these three symbolized - the personification personification, figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstract ideas are endowed with human qualities, e.g., allegorical morality plays where characters include Good Deeds, Beauty, and Death. of poise, class and dignity - is becoming increasingly rare in an era defined by egomaniacal, multimillionaire mul·ti·mil·lion·aire n. One whose financial assets are worth several million dollars. multimillionaire Noun a person who has money or property worth several million pounds, dollars, etc. athletes and their entourages. But the sports landscape has shifted since the 1980s when these legends dominated the sports scene. The increased immediacy and intrusiveness of the media, policy modifications in professional sports leagues  This article has no lead section.To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, one should be written. , changes in sports' labor market labor market A place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience and society's expectations have all significantly contributed to the current state of the sports industry. Therefore, rather than simply indict in·dict tr.v. in·dict·ed, in·dict·ing, in·dicts 1. To accuse of wrongdoing; charge: a book that indicts modern values. 2. the entire new generation of athletes because of the well-documented shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
Today's media not only reports the sports news but is increasingly making the news through its aggressive strategy of using sports as a tool to enhance its other business holdings. This strategy includes buying sports franchises to use as programming content and making a significant investment in the burgeoning market in sports-oriented e-commerce. This abundance of sports news and product, exemplified by 24-hour sports channels and online rotisserie leagues, has left little to the imagination of sports fans. Previous generations of fans enjoyed a romanticized view of sports prior to the proliferation of sports media. In short, radio broadcasts and next-day written accounts of sporting events and individual player achievements contributed to America's fascination with and love of sports. The result was the creation of the superstar athlete as cultural icon. Today the media no longer glorifies athletes but is charged with providing investigative reports and information regarding all aspects of an athlete's life, public and private. Such exhaustive coverage limits the establishment of athletes as cultural icons because, after all, familiarity breeds contempt. Additionally, sports league policies dealing with the amateur draft, mandatory drug testing and overall athlete accountability have inundated in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. sports with immature professional athletes who often demonstrate poor judgment. These athletes, many of whom forgo much - if not all - of their college eligibility to secure multimillion dollar contracts, burst onto the national sports and media scene lacking life skills, a work ethic and sense of propriety. Increasingly, these younger athletes face the virtually impossible task of balancing their extraordinary athletic ability with underdeveloped social skills at a time when they should really be in school. Changes in sports' labor market have also had a major impact on the cultural impact of athletes. More liberalized free agency has diminished athletes' ability to make a long-term connection with a single community. League policies in the '90s appear to promote athletes moving from city to city, eliminating the athlete's ability to connect with younger fans. And with guaranteed contracts worth tens of millions of dollars, athletes no longer have to be as concerned with their public persona, as product endorsement product endorsement a public statement declaring the virtues and recommending the use of a product. Discouraged by codes of veterinary ethics other than by the publication of research results. contracts provide relatively little compensation to most highly compensated athletes. Additionally, society's expectations regarding character and acceptable behavior have also deteriorated over the last decade. Many fans argue that there are too few role models in sports today. Yet these same fans are quick to dismiss the unsavory actions and indiscretions of their favorite players. Until athletes are held to the same standards as the rest of society for their actions, it's unreasonable to expect accountability from them. All these developments have been instrumental in reshaping the way America views professional athletes. When it comes time to decide on role models and corporate endorsers, most fans and companies focus on athletes' charisma, character and ability to convey the desired message. Today, the success of an athlete depends on his credibility, believability and overall level of athletic achievement. If an athlete delivers on these counts, his value from both a cultural and sports perspective is greatly enhanced. For all these reasons, the current generation of athletes finds itself too controversial for mainstream America, leaving much of the nation asking, ``Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?'' CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1--3) Wayne Gretzky, above left, hung up his skates in April. Michael Jordan, above right, retired from the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= in January. John Elway retired from the NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga in May. Tom Mendoza/Daily News Ed Andrieski/Associated Press File photo |
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