However you view the events at Oscar Pistorius’s Pretoria home yesterday,
it’s a tragedy. For those who’ve been
living on Mars, Pistorius’s girlfriend – model Reeva Steenkamp – was shot
dead. Police initially refused to
confirm that the suspect they were questioning was Pistorius (standard practice
in South Africa, apparently), although they did make the baffling decision to
tell us that they’d been called to incidents ‘of a domestic nature’ at the
address in the past.
It’ll be months before we know whether or not he’s guilty. But, whatever happens, it’s hard to see
anything other than the ruination of the man who’s arguably been the
single-most important sportsperson in the world over the last five years.
As such, his is likely to be the most spectacular plunge from grace by a
sporting figure in history. Here are
some other fallen idols, whose descents I’ve attempted to rank.
2. Ben Johnson
From the holder of the most prestigious title in sport to ultimate villain
in 72 hours. In the famous words of Des
Lynam, “I've just been handed a piece
of paper here that if it's right, it'll be the most dramatic story out
of these Olympics or perhaps any others.”
I probably shouldn’t say this but, in my book, that 1988 final remains
the greatest race in the history of the 100m.
The look on Carl Lewis’s face!
And four men under 10 seconds for the first time. It’s been branded ‘the dirtiest race in
history’ but at the time it was pure adrenaline-filled theatre.
The saddest part of the whole tawdry business, as I recall it, was that
‘Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson’ became ‘Jamaican-born sprinter Ben Johnson’ in
many sections of the media. Talk about
institutional racism.
3. Lance Armstrong
It must be nigh-on impossible for the few journalists who continued to
throw awkward questions at Lance Armstrong at the height of his fame, such as
the admirable Paul Kimmage, not to be smug now.
Kimmage was once roundly bullied by Armstrong at a press conference for
using the phrase ‘the cancer of cycling’.
It’s not certain whether he was referring to drugs in the sport or
Armstrong specifically. Armstrong, who
had overcome testicular cancer in the 1990s, chose to interpret it as the
latter and lashed out.
Perhaps the most distasteful aspect of the entire affair was Armstrong’s
likening of his current situation to the challenge he faced when he found out
he had cancer.
It might help the public’s perception of him if he sounded even a little
apologetic.
4. Hansie Cronje
A second erstwhile favourite son of South Africa on the list.
I walked past Cronje at Centurion in Pretoria during the rain-affected fifth
Test of England’s 1999-2000 tour. We’d
already lost the series but on the final day, news filtered through that he and
England captain Nasser Hussain had agreed to forfeit an innings each to ‘make a
game of it.’ For us spectators, it felt
like a bit of recompense for what had been a frustrating few days; the sun had
shone almost constantly since a deluge on the first day but the wet outfield had
prevented any play until day five.
The enterprising agreement by the captains produced a brilliant,
one-day-style run chase, England reaching their target of 249 for the loss of
eight wickets when Darren Gough pulled Nantie Hayward for four through
midwicket with just five balls to spare.
Only in subsequent years did the game look suspicious and, sure enough,
it emerged that Cronje had accepted money and a gift from a bookmaker in return
for the early declaration.
Cronje’s death at the age of 32 in a plane crash meant South African
cricket was able to move on rather more swiftly than would’ve been possible if
he’d stayed alive. One of the reasons
that current captain Graeme Smith was ushered into the captaincy at the tender age
of 22 – apart from being an admirable character – was that he had no links to
Cronje.
5. Tiger Woods
Tiger’s last on this list as his fall from grace has not broken
him. Sure, in the words of The Smiths,
‘at the time it was terrible’, and his carefully-staged apology press
conference made for cringe-worthy viewing.
However, he’s emerged from the scandal if not unscathed then at least
intact. He even retained his lucrative
association with Nike – unlike Armstrong, who was summarily dumped – although
who knows how much money he forfeited from the dozens of other sponsors who
walked?
I suppose that in the public consciousness, serial adultery is more
forgivable than making a mockery of an entire sport. Even though the base crime is essentially the
same: lying. People haven’t forgotten Tiger’s
exposure as a prolific philanderer but at least he’s back doing what he’s most
famous for. Next question. Is he good enough these days to add to his 14
majors?
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