
Sports in America and in all other countries seem to be the common bind that keep people together in a conflicted world. Sports, at times, seem to be the only thing that a democrat and a republican can talk about without dismantling each other’s reputation. In today’s society, we see sports taking on a significant role the media, both good and bad; and with the outbreak of social media, every athlete is under a microscope. Today we see athletes committing major crimes and the legal system only giving them a slap on the wrist with the most minimal jail time possible. For example, O.J. Simpson, Brock Turner, Rubel Hossain, Ray Rice, and others have done vicious harms to others and walked away seemingly without a scratch. Whether it be rape, murder, or domestic violence, athletes seem to have the easiest means to get out of even the most ruthless crimes. 

Athletes mainly started being under the microscope of the general media in the 1990’s with the dramatic spectacle that is the O.J. Simpson trial. In the 1990’s, O.J. Simpson was accused of murdering his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. The trial got explosive media coverage, so much that the jurors could not have a TV in their hotel rooms, nor could they read any sort of media source in fear that they might be swayed. The trial was handled so poorly that it ended up that Simpson was found not guilty on all charges. Simpson was later found responsible for the damages in a civil suit against him from Brown’s family. Many people were torn on this case because it was one of the first scenarios where an athlete of wealth and fame was involved in an interracial crime. Accompanied with the racial tension in LA with race riots, a racist police force, drug raids in poor areas, etc., the fact that Simpson got away with a gruesome crime such as murder of his wife to some people prompted the question as to what did his wife do to bring this upon themselves (Spain). It was the same scenario in the Ray Rice situation; instead of questioning Ray Rice on why he did what he did, instead, they wondered what his wife had done in order to be assaulted by her husband. If any other common man had beaten his wife, he would’ve been arrested and put in jail, but since it was a prominent, well known athlete, he got the benefit of the doubt and no legal action was pursued. 

Another example of athlete privilege is cricket player Rubel Hossain and the rape case that was brought against him in 2013. Rubel Hossain was a very prominent cricket player for the Bangladesh club in India. Bangladesh made it to the cricket world cup in 2013 off a game winning play by Hossain. However, just a few months before the tournament, Hossain was accused by his ex-girlfriend Naznin Akhter Happy of rape and breaking the promise of marriage by his wife which are two of the most heavily weighted crimes in India. While Hossain was awaiting his trial in prison, the Indian judicial system granted him permission to play and participate in the Cricket World Cup and leave prison to play a game (Sinha). The idea of a possible felon being released from prison to play a game in a sport is ridiculous. Imagine if a serial killer just so happened to be an American baseball player and the world baseball classic was a month away; in America, there would be an uproar and probably protests if that player were allowed to compete in a game. The fact of the matter is, in this situation, the legal system failed and embarrassed these two women. Essentially, they were told by the Indian government that their lives and their problems with a man who mistreated the both of them were not as important as having a certain cricket player on a team to play a game in a tournament that they were not eve guaranteed to win. This situation is just another prime example that athletes are seen in a different light than any other person in this world. 

Perhaps the most recent, and quite possibly the worst case that represents that athletes are given a legal privilege in this world is that of Brock Turner, a former swimmer and college athlete at Stanford. In 2015, Turner was intoxicated at the Palo Alto school. While intoxicated, he raped an unconscious woman and proceeded to be arrested. His trial was not until 2016 and was overseen by judge Aaron Persky. Turner faced a potential 14-year sentence, but Persky opted to only give Turner a six-year sentence citing that “too much jail time would have a bad impact on him.” (Hamilton). While incarcerated, Turner was said to have exemplified good behavior and reported back to the same judge who in turn released Turner on good behavior from prison. Imagine that, a convicted rapist was let out of prison after serving only six-months in prison. This was not only a result of an athlete being privileged, but Turner was also given the benefit of the doubt because of his upbringing. A rich, white, Ohio swimmer with no priors, he was like a posterchild for good behavior, but he committed one of the most disgusting and heinous crimes on the Earth and he deserved to be punished for a longer time than six months. The disgraceful part about the judge is that he said that jail time would have a negative impact on Turner, yet if it were say a black football player from the projects in Compton, who has seen violence, that committed this crime, would have had to serve a lengthier sentence most likely because his upbringing was not as privileged as Turner’s which is unfortunate. The victim, Jessica Valenti, was outraged by the sentence in the first place and felt like her rights and security were overlooked and posted an essay explaining her position on the matter. Since Turner’s release, Judge Aaron Persky has been relieved of his position as a judge in the state of California (Hamilton). Turner’s case remains to be a prominent image of not only the privileges of athletes, but also the privileges of rich white males in the eyes of the legal system. 

There have been instances when athletes were not given privilege when they probably should have been. The best example would be the Penn State football program in 2012. That year it was discovered that one of the assistant coaches, Jerry Sandusky, was molesting young boys in the showers of the locker room during their summer football camps. In repercussion, legendary head coach Joe Paterno was fired and his reputation was forever tarnished. Also, their athletic director was fired for withholding the fact that he knew that this was happening. The NCAA handed down some very severe punishments to exemplify how they felt on the matter. The football program was reduced scholarships from the normal 85 that a division 1 program gets to only 65 scholarships (Laskowski), which greatly impacts the kinds of players that are able to play for the team. Also, the team faced a ban from the postseason, which includes all conference championships and bowl games. It’s understandable to punish the people who knew and withheld the truth that was going on. However, the players, future players, and fans seemed to catch the worst of it. The players did not do the crime, but had to answer to the punishment. The fans had no idea about what was happening but cheered for a team that no matter how well the team did, they would not be rewarded for it. The players in high school who grew up wanting to play for the program did not have any connection to the school, but if they wanted to go to Penn State to play football, they would also have to answer to the sanctions given by the NCAA. This is a case that the athletes were punished for no reason, and the one time that athlete privilege could have been used for the betterment of everyone, it was not even acknowledged. 

Giving athletes the benefit of the doubt when it comes to legal matters is not only unfair to the victim and their families, but it also gives the athlete to explain their biased side of the story. Back to the Simpson case, once a few years passed he wrote a biography talking about his life up to and after the case. In the book, he talked about his two marriages and his two children and how much he loved them(Simpson), the basics of a family man. However, as you read the book you get the feeling that he might had killed his second wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. First, the title of the book is “If I did It” which was a slap to the face of anyone who thought he had murdered Nicole, and plenty of people did. The fact is that Simpson could have named it “I Killed Her” and nothing could be done because he had already been tried for murder and was found not guilty, and under the constitution you cannot be put in double jeopardy for the same crime. Simpson was very biased in the book because he wanted to paint the picture that he was a great guy and that he had a reputable character and good reputation, but the damage had been done. Simpson’s reputation was tarnished and people will never remember him for what he did on the field but rather the infamous murder trial that he was a part of. In the book, Simpson never explained how he thought his wife might have been killed, instead he just acknowledged her death and moved on as if he was unphased by the murder of his ex-wife and moved on from trying to tell the world through writing what a good guy he was. Giving an athlete who had gotten away with a crime like this, even though the consensus was that he was guilty, room to practically admit that he did what he was accused of is a travesty of the American legal justice system. The whole “if the glove doesn’t fit you must acquit” phrase is one that should have never been listened to by the judge. Because of the jury and their naivete to how the American legal system works, a murderer walked away from a court room without going to jail and was able to air his dirty laundry to the world and not care because he was past it. 

Another aspect of the Simpson case was the morale in the respected black and white communities. Before the trial even began, members of the black community were protesting his arrest saying that Simpson was only a prime suspect because he was black. The concept of that statement is preposterous and absurd. O.J. Simpson was a prime suspect because he was a man who had a lot of contact with Nicole and was seen with her even after they split. However, in an article written by Aaronette White, White explains the reasons why African Americans felt the way they did during that time. In the 80’s and 90’s, the war on drugs were rampant in inner cities, police forces had permission to do random sweeps of neighborhoods and would arrest any suspect person that they wanted and it was considered legal (White). There were trace riots in LA for the Rodney King beating where three police officers viciously attacked Rodney King with their feet and nightsticks (White). In response to that, many African Americans responded in violence by looting and burning down stores and buildings in the inner cities. Needless to say, people in the inner cities felt like they could not trust the police force or the justice system. The justice system put many young African Americans in prison for many years due to mandatory drug minimums; so, the fact that the one successful black hero in America (O.J. Simpson) was being tried for the murder of a white woman, many people still felt betrayed, as if even a position of power could not prevent them from being treated unfairly. The black community pushed hard for the verdict of not guilty for Simpson and heavily played the race card (White). However, in the end White says that not only she, but others felt guilty because they learned that he may had killed his ex-wife. In the end, the overall feeling in the black community was that they felt a need to make their voices heard, but in the end realized that they were voicing their opinions for the wrong person.

 With the introduction of social media into the world, todays athletes are under a huge microscope and now every one of their moves is analyzed and scrutinized. Anything an athlete does, whether good or bad, seems to find its way onto the internet and widens their microscope. The Brock Turner case blew up in fame because it involved a white suburban kid at a prestigious university and he committed a terrible crime but got undeserving jail time. Former NFL defensive back Brian Banks appeared on CNN to speak out about how he felt about the case. Butler was wrongly accused of raping a woman when he was only 16 years old and was tried as an adult. He was sentenced to only six years, like Turner, to prison and it was not until 5 years and two months that he was exonerated because the woman who accused him recanted her statement which meant that he was an innocent man. Banks had no priors, not even a speeding ticket, and was tried as an adult for a crime that he did not commit. Turner, who was an adult and was found guilty of rape, only ended up serving six months in jail for a crime that he was found guilty of committing. In a quote, Banks says “The judge based his decision on a lifestyle. He had experienced nothing serious enough that could prepare him for prison, he was sheltered.” (Banks). Which b rings to the fact that the American justice system is flawed, and that is no surprise, but it is flawed so terribly that it is inexcusable, you cannot give the same men who are equal in both the eyes of God and the government, who have no priors to their record, one a sentence of six years and the other a sentence of six months simply because they grew up in a different neighborhood with a different lifestyle; that is absurd. 

In conclusion, it is a known fact that money and upbringing have a factor on how you are viewed and how your life is lived, but the one place it should not matter is in the courtroom, where all men and women can enter and be seen as equals with the same given rights by the laws of that land, and be viewed as equal by a judge. The celebrity status of a person should not even matter or come into account when it comes to a court case, it should only matter to the media because that is their job. Judges should not focus on the upbringing or monetary status of a given person, but rather focus on what happened, who is accused, who is accusing, and listen to the evidence and determine how much time that he/she should serve for their time if found guilty. However, until that happens, the American justice system will  stay riddled with holes and continue to disappoint its own citizens for years to come.

   