When Antonio Cromartie was traded to the New York Jets two months ago, questions immediately surfaced about his commitment to returning to Pro Bowl form.
However, a less publicized story was Cromartie’s off-the-field woes that included no less than five paternity suits in which he has been named over the past three years.
In addition, the 26-year-old Cromartie has fathered 7 children, across 5 states, with 6 different women and was behind on child support by at least $25,000.
That is, of course, until the Jets organization swooped in to advance Cromartie a grand total of $500,000 to help him address his paternity issues and, more importantly, keep the story as less of a distraction as possible so that the focus remains on football for Cromartie, the media, and the general public.
But what the Jets can’t do with the signing of a check is hide the fact that marital fidelity and sexual responsibility in this day and age is nearly an impossible standard to maintain for a professional sports athlete.
According to a NYTimes.com report in August of 2009, polls, studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that the divorce rate for NFL players is between 60 and 80 percent, which is higher than that of the general population, where nearly half of marriages end in divorce, but comparable to athletes in other sports.
The report also featured an interview with 3-time Pro Bowl Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins, who listed the reasons why NFL marriages fail, which are in no way unique to football: rampant infidelity, women who target athletes, trophy wives, lifestyles not conducive to marriage and players being surrounded by entourages, which can discourage intimacy.
This is the sexually charged, temptation-driven world of a professional athlete; an environment a majority has been forced to confront since their collegiate playing days.
Every professional athlete spends a significant time on the road, where intimate encounters with multiple women is always a possibility; especially when it is being made perfectly clear that sex is there for the asking.
And being on the road, for the married and single player alike, combined with the emotional, mental, and physical demands that come with their chosen profession can be an extremely challenging and lonely existence; which can result in a state where they are highly susceptible to succumbing to the plethora of temptations that are virtually impossible to avoid.
Unfortunately, that’s just one of the reasons why it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise when Wilt Chamberlain declared he had sex with in excess of 20,000 women or when Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson announced his first retirement in 1992 due to contracting the HIV virus or when Tiger Woods’ various indiscretions were brought to light.
It also shouldn’t come as a surprise to know that Antonio Cromartie fathered 7 children with 6 different women in 5 different states or that free agent NFL running back Travis Henry fathered 11 children with 10 different women.
Money, fame and fortune aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
“It was the best time of my life and the worst time of my life,” said Linda Garrett, ex-wife of New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, in a June 2007 Appeal-Democrat.com report. “LT was my husband, but he belonged to everyone, especially the thousands and thousands of fans. I also shared him with the drugs and the women who would stop at nothing to get to him.”
“One night, a woman called my house in the middle of the night and told me that my husband had just left her house and would be home in 20 minutes,” Garrett said. “Sure enough, the garage door opened 20 minutes later. The women didn’t care he was married with children.”
Just to clarify, athletes are equally culpable for this dilemma as those who are attempting to cause them to fall. After all, they can just say ‘No’; but the further careers advance and the more success is achieved, the more it becomes virtually impossible for a male professional athlete to resist giving in.
As a result, wives are left without husbands, children are left without fathers, and men are left morally, financially, and/or spiritually bankrupt.
The solution to this epidemic continues to remain a mystery. One thing’s for sure though, it’s not as simple as writing a $500,000 check.
Which begs the question, is it realistically possible for male professional athletes to remain faithful to their wives or exercise sexual restraint given the demands and the distractions that come with living in their world?
Possible, yes; but those who do are the exception rather than the rule.
Maybe comedian Chris Rock was right. Maybe men are only as faithful as their options. And in the professional sports world, it’s glaringly obvious that men have limitless options; which are the trappings that come with celebrity and wealth that have claimed families, marriages, and lives as was the tragic case with former NFL quarterback Steve McNair among several others.
And even more will be lost until this epidemic becomes more of a subject of discussion in the circles of professional sports leagues.
Comments