Does Talent Demand Respect? Twitter Fight! Jeff Pearlman vs. Aaron Rodgers!

In one corner, Aaron Rodgers, the world's defending Super Bowl XLV MVP.

In the other corner, Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author and SI.com columnist.*

*(And blurber of my book.) 

Rodgers tweeted: "Lots of @kingjames [LeBron James] haters out there. His fire must be pretty strong this year. His talent demands ur respect..."

Pearlman replied: "why does athletic talent alone demand respect? that's ludicrous."

And it was on!

Actually, that's about it. So, sorry for the misleading/exaggerated/intentinonally baiting title and opening. Or whatever. Hey, it's a blog. It's BrandonSneed.com. Around here, we live to inspire, but we also have fun.

I post this because I am curious about a somewhat serious topic. About that question Pearlman posed:

"Why does athletic talent alone demand respect?"

We worship athletes. Even our hatred of them is a way of worshipping them. Yeah, I know. I don't like what LeBron, a.k.a. King James, did either. But people went out and burned his jersey and basically just went ballistic. Or, from another perspective: They invested serious amounts of time and energy showing how unhappy they were with him. 

With someone they didn't know.

With an athlete.

With an ambiguous character forged by (sometimes not well) calculated PR moves.

Back in ancient times, they called them gods.

Zeus. Hercules. Atlas.

Today, they are celebrities. 

LeBron. Lady Gaga. The Bieber. 

They are what we make them. And yes, some of us have made athletes gods. 

But does their god-like athletic ability demand our respect? It usually steals it, taking it from us seemingly without our permission. Were we to stand before Michael Jordan or Albert Pujols or LeBron James or Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber or Jay-Z or—yeah, on and on that last could go, [INSERT YOUR OBSESSION HERE]—we would many of us be left trembly-kneed and stuttering. 

Take a step back, though, and think about it. 

I am an athlete. I was once a locally famous one. People, though they numbered sparsely few, stuttered around me. Way more stutter around my brother. I tend to side with athletes when the sports media attacks them, because I find it unfair how hellbent people seem on tearing down the icons and gods they've built up. 'Tis not the gods' fault, for they are merely human, having become gods by our fancy, not their own. Is it their fault for being gifted in one thing that draws the attention of the masses? Of course not.

(Nor, it should be noted, is it our fault for praising our heroes' feets. This is normal and healthy. It shows us what we can be.)

Naturally, there are those mistaken humans who take the masses' adulation to their heads, and become gods in their own minds. These, I don't mind seeing their bubble burst, though it still pains me when they come crashing to the ground. 

But some, they are nothing more than human. And nothing less. This is important to remember. 

I fear we too easily and too often forget. 

Aaron Rodgers is just another guy with a beard who probably sometimes trips up the steps. 

LeBron James is just another guy who's really tall who probably sometimes hits his head on things.

Jeff Pearlman is just another guy with bestselling books who probably sometimes loses his keys. 

I am just another guy with a blog and a love for stories who probably sometimes forget his wallet when he goes to get 50 hot wings. 

We are all human, all capable of mistakes and ego and pain. And all too often, we create all three for someone else. 

Such it is, being human.

That's the kicker: It's just being human that demands respect.

LeBron James has worked and worked and worked to become the basketball player he is. Aaron Rodgers has worked and worked and worked to become the quarterback he is. And Jeff Pearlman has worked and worked and worked to become the writer he is. In their fields, they have likely earned a substantial degree of respect. 

You could say the same about anybody else who is successful.

There are rare few people in this world for whom I have little to no degree of respect. To get there, they have earned it. Those people are not named in this post, nor is it likely they ever shall be named anywhere around here. And no, they are not athletes or celebrities. 

None of us make the right choices all the time. But most of us always try really, really hard. This I do believe. 

What do you think? Does being gifted at something—sports, music, writing, dancing, or whatever else you can think of—demand respect? 

Comments

[Paul Catalano]

IMO, talent alone doesn't demand respect. It's what you do with it that earns you respect. Respect is not earned/given by just being....it's by the actions you take. Anyway, I'm off the soapbox now.

[Brandon Sneed]

Nah man, not taking you as being on a soapbox at all. I think you're right. I think it's how you carry yourself, and how you handle what your talent brings you, that commands the amount of respect you get.

Thanks for the comment.