Every community makes a special effort to recognize people who are outstanding, but if these people do not meet certain socially accepted criteria, then the community often attempts to revoke them of their achievement status. Cheating, criminal behavior, personal character, or a person’s ethical values can disqualify them from being recognized as a high achiever. These people can be scrutinize and chastised by the public, but ultimately, it is often a panel of judges who represent a specific industry (sports, science, music, movies, etc.), who decides the fate and recognition of a participant. These officials can revoke the persons right to participate in the said activity, or they can refuse to acknowledge the person’s achievements.
Sports seems to be the industry which scrutinizes its participants to the highest degree. If a sports hero uses performance enhancing drugs to achieve success, that person is often revoked of his or her record holding status. But what if poor officiating results in the loss of recognition for an athlete? What if the person uses drugs that are the opposite of performance enhancing? What if judges are corrupt or bribed into choosing the winner of an event? What if a high achiever is arrested for a criminal behavior that is completely unrelated to their participation in a specific activity? Is the industry ready to recognize it’s own accounting errors?
I think it’s time that we move away from scrutinizing the particularities of each situation. We need to accept accomplishments regardless of drug use or anything else that isn’t blatant cheating. I propose building a “Hall of Shame” that recognizes those who were ignored by their industry representatives.
Here’s the thing, plenty of people have used drugs and they are still recognized for their achievements:
Jimi Hendrix used a ton of drugs and he is regarded as a brilliant musician - it is arguable that he would not have been as inventive had he not been under the influence.... therefore is he a cheater?
Ross Rebagliati is a professional snowboarder from Canada who had his gold medal revoked because he tested positive for marijuana use. The knee jerk reaction to revoke his medal proves the ignorance of the Olympic Committee, who later reinstated his victory status with the understanding that marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug.
Professional Skateboarders are renowned for their open use of drugs, but their criminal credentials are not audited, as the industry realizes each individual’s independence is more important than the sport’s image.
It is a well known fact that some American Soldiers during the Vietnam War smoked marijuana, even while they served on the battlefield. Would we revoke them of their awards for heroism, even though they may have been under the influence of drugs? NEVER!! No matter how much we might disagree with our government’s decision to enter any war, we have to understand that we have elected our officials in a largely democratic way, and our servicemen took exemplary risks during their tours of duty, and their honor and courage should be recognized.
Jimi Hendrix used a ton of drugs and he is regarded as a brilliant musician - it is arguable that he would not have been as inventive had he not been under the influence.... therefore is he a cheater?
Ross Rebagliati is a professional snowboarder from Canada who had his gold medal revoked because he tested positive for marijuana use. The knee jerk reaction to revoke his medal proves the ignorance of the Olympic Committee, who later reinstated his victory status with the understanding that marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug.
Professional Skateboarders are renowned for their open use of drugs, but their criminal credentials are not audited, as the industry realizes each individual’s independence is more important than the sport’s image.
It is a well known fact that some American Soldiers during the Vietnam War smoked marijuana, even while they served on the battlefield. Would we revoke them of their awards for heroism, even though they may have been under the influence of drugs? NEVER!! No matter how much we might disagree with our government’s decision to enter any war, we have to understand that we have elected our officials in a largely democratic way, and our servicemen took exemplary risks during their tours of duty, and their honor and courage should be recognized.
Jack Nicholson is just one in a large selection of Academy Award winners who have been known to use drugs - did his experience with drugs help his performance, and should his awards be revoked?
My “Hall of Shame” would also include people who are not recognized by their peers, but their violations borderline what is acceptable:
Pete Rose was not discovered to be gambling/betting on baseball games that he participated in, but the baseball industry has still decided against recognizing his amazing achievements on the field.
Pete Rose was not discovered to be gambling/betting on baseball games that he participated in, but the baseball industry has still decided against recognizing his amazing achievements on the field.
Lance Armstrong was using using illegal methods to enhance his performance, but he was never caught for his activities. Basically all major participants in the sport of cycling were using the same enhancement tricks that he has been chastised for, so lets just accept that fact and recognize that he is the greatest performer that the sport has seen to this day?
Same with Barry Bonds!!
Same with Barry Bonds!!
Joe Paterno’s amazing skills as a head coach will be ignored because of his knowledge and cover-up of sexual abuse that was happening at the facility he manage, but I would see to it that he was recognized at my “Hall of Shame”.
Another thought is in regards to officials making bad calls - shouldn’t we recognize the teams or performers who lost their competitions because of bad officiating?
In 1990, the University of Colorado beat Missouri State by 33-31 in a “weird” situation that gave them a “fifth down” thus allowing them to score the winning points in the final seconds of the game.
Michael Jordan pushed Bryon Russell on the final shot of his career in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, which put the Bulls over the Jazz for their sixth championship. If a foul was called on this play, the game certainly could have had a different outcome.
Lennox Lewis fought Evander Holyfield at Madison Square Garden in 1999 and the judges determined Holyfield to be the winner, although Lewis arguably landed 200 punches more than Holyfield.
In 1990, the University of Colorado beat Missouri State by 33-31 in a “weird” situation that gave them a “fifth down” thus allowing them to score the winning points in the final seconds of the game.
Michael Jordan pushed Bryon Russell on the final shot of his career in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, which put the Bulls over the Jazz for their sixth championship. If a foul was called on this play, the game certainly could have had a different outcome.
Lennox Lewis fought Evander Holyfield at Madison Square Garden in 1999 and the judges determined Holyfield to be the winner, although Lewis arguably landed 200 punches more than Holyfield.
Now some individuals have been discovered to be blatant cheaters, and they would be recognized in my “Hall of Shame”, but it would be tough to rationalize their “achievements”:
Tonya Harding might have been a fantastic ice skater, but because she was involved in a scheme that involved her bodyguard hiring a person to break the legs of her rival Nancy Kerrigan prior to a major competition, it will be tough to give her credit for her skills.
Tonya Harding might have been a fantastic ice skater, but because she was involved in a scheme that involved her bodyguard hiring a person to break the legs of her rival Nancy Kerrigan prior to a major competition, it will be tough to give her credit for her skills.
Milli Vanilli won a Grammy Award for “Best New Artist” in 1990, but it was later revealed that they did not sing on the recordings that they produced, and their Grammy Award was revoked. I would argue that they were first and foremost entertainers, and it was their image and presentation that allowed them to achieve success, not their performance (or lack thereof) on the recording. If you ask me, the American Music Awards did the right thing by not withdrawing the three awards that they received from that organization... they won fair and square, but a valid argument can certainly be made against my point of view on this one.
Rosie Ruiz was suspected of cheating during the Boston Marathon when she completed it in record time, even though she did not show signs of physical excursion. To this day she still claims to be the legitimate winner of the race, but most authorities on the subject discredit her and claim that she most likely did not run the entire course. Nonetheless, she was not officially recognized as the leader in the woman’s division of the race, but in the my “Hall of Shame” her story would be documented and patrons at my museum could formulate their own interpretation of the event.
Lastly, the science community heralds Albert Einstein as one of the greatest minds in the history of the world, but really..... what was he smoking in that pipe?