University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Everybody needs a hero

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Everybody needs a hero

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Everybody Needs A Hero

By Jill Krebs

A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS, Specialized Journalism

May 2014

Copyright 2014 Jill Krebs
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ page 3
Acknowledgments --------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 4
Abstract --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 5
Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 6
Everybody Needs a Hero ------------------------------------------------------------------- page 7

References ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 29

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DEDICATION

To Robert Krebs, Margie Neher and Jennifer Gentile: my first examples of what
it truly means to be a hero. You continue to inspire and push me to succeed while
encouraging me to make the world a better place through thought and word.

To Arnold Schwarzenegger, my first personal hero. My formative years would
have been far more difficult without your inspiration and influence.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This thesis could not have been written without the unwavering guidance and
support of Michael Parks. His patience and understanding gently pushed me to transform
my abstract ideas about sports heroes into a black-and-white reality.
Without K.C. Cole, I never would have had the courage to pursue a graduate
degree in the first place.
Diane Winston literally showed me the world and added critical context to my
view of modern-day heroes.
Alan Abrahamson undoubtedly brought out the best in me. He is an absolute rock
star in modern sports journalism.
Daniel Durbin made this thesis finally a reality by agreeing to sit on my
committee. He is just what the world of sports needs: another brilliant mind.
A special thank you to my comrades in the sports industry who graciously agreed
to be interviewed for this piece. Your candidness and honesty have forever changed the
way I view the role of sports in society, for the better.

And Gail Light. Yes, Gail. It’s finished.

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ABSTRACT

The following piece takes an in-depth look at sports heroes and their place in
modern-day culture. It is written as a first-person narrative by a female sports
professional who has held a variety of jobs in sports journalism over the last 15 years.
The piece was written for sports fans of all levels who can relate to the significance and
relevance of sports figures in their day-to-day lives. It could be considered a long-form
sports magazine feature (ESPN The Magazine), a women’s magazine feature (O,
Women’s Health, SELF) or a feature posted on a website geared specifically toward the
female sports fan (espnW).

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INTRODUCTION

Due to their power and influence on culture as a whole, heroes are consistently
discussed, admired, questioned and examined. Heroes take many forms, whether real or
imagined, exalted or fallen, worthy or sinful. Religious role models, fictional characters
endowed with super-human powers, and leaders of the oppressed comprise the many
classifications of the modern-day hero. Heroes of all kinds influence our daily
conversations and private thoughts and, for many of us, our actions.
Sports heroes are especially powerful due to their real, measurable ability to
overcome adversity, face opponents and make their admirers believe anything is possible
in the heat of competition. For this reason, society has made this elite group of athletes a
priority.
As journalists, our task is to understand not only how important sports figures are
to the public, but also why they are so important. Putting their actions in context and
making sense of why we care is the only way to do our due diligence to the truth while
reporting the facts. Sometimes journalists must provide more answers than questions. In
the realm of journalism where “winners and losers” are typically the focal point, sports
audiences want to know their heroes intimately. Sports heroes are important to society
for more than their ability to win or lose. Right or wrong, they are admired. Sports
journalists can bring them closer, humanizing them while underscoring their widespread
influence. The impact of the sports hero is impervious to the passing of time.

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EVERYBODY NEEDS A HERO

Before July 8, 2010, the word “decision” in the sports world merely meant the
way in which a victor was, for instance, determined in a close boxing match. Yet, on this
particular Thursday, the innocuous term would come to carry much more meaning for
even the casual sports fan.
LeBron James, a free agent since July 1, was to announce his decision about 6:30
that night regarding where he would play the upcoming NBA season. Every professional
in the sports industry was glued to the TV, myself included, waiting for the news to come
down. The culmination of an entire week of speculation and analysis was imminent.
I was pretty certain I already knew what his answer would be.
As an ESPN employee since the age of 23, and from Cleveland to boot, I was
almost sure I knew something most people did not yet know. Good sports stories didn’t
end this way. There was no way LeBron would create a flurry of fanfare only to break
his hometown’s collective heart. Not the LeBron I knew. LeBron and I both went to St.
Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. I had interviewed him as a fledgling
sports reporter at Kent State. I knew him when. He was not the kind of person who
would call an announcement of this magnitude unless he planned to reward the hopeful
fans of Cleveland for their unconditional support.
And yet, as the announcement loomed, it occurred to me…perhaps I really didn’t
know anything at all.
! (!
In an instant, Jim Gray finally asked the question, “LeBron, what’s your
decision?”
LeBron took a quick breath, which seemed like a long, dramatic pause to me, and
said it.
I stood up and cheered. “Yes, I knew…wait, what?!”
What did he just say?
“This fall, I’m gonna take my talents to South Beach and, um, join the Miami
Heat.”
Excuse me? Why was the hair on the back of my neck standing up? Why was
there a sinking feeling in my gut? Was I crying?
This decision did not bode well. It meant so many bad things for my life as a
sports fan. It meant the days when Dad and I bonded over lengthy discussions about the
Cleveland Cavaliers and good ‘ol LeBron’s near-successes were over. I felt like I lost a
friend…a friend I cared about way more than he cared about me.
It also meant something else. As a sports professional, I knew this was all I would
hear about for the coming months, perhaps years.
LeBron James, my hero and fellow St. Vincent-St. Mary alum, was leaving
Cleveland. The hero and savior of Cleveland basketball was jumping ship and breaking
up with a city that loved him. He was not only breaking up with Cleveland, which was
hard enough to swallow, but he had called extra attention to this fact on a public stage.
This was akin to a frat boy taking his girlfriend to the middle of the quad at a time when
classes were letting out and telling her their relationship was over, using a bullhorn.
Embarrassment now underscored my hometown’s heartbreak.
! )!
I was mad.
I spent hours over the next week obsessively talking about LeBron. I talked about
“the decision” with my family. I talked about it with my friends. I discussed and
analyzed it with my ESPN colleagues. I mulled it over while sitting in traffic on the 101.
I argued with total strangers about it, feeling myself getting so worked up I was ready to
punch people in the face for not understanding why I was so upset. I heard terms like
“bitter fan” and “sour grapes.” I felt like the entire nation was laughing at my hometown,
and laughing at me.
Once the dust of July 8 settled, I had a thought that disturbed me even more than
seeing LeBron, with his cocky smile, wearing the Miami Heat jersey for the first time.
The thought persisted for a few days until I was brave enough to confront it.
Why did I even care to begin with? What was wrong with me?
For that matter, why did the city of Cleveland care? I spent hours defending my
hometown while vilifying this man, spewing waves of vitriolic commentary over and
around anyone who would listen. Why did I choose to spend my time this way? LeBron
certainly doesn’t even remember me. What made him so important in my life?
LeBron was more than just a sports hero to me. I knew him personally. Of all the
sports figures I’d studied and covered in my career at this point, he was the one with
whom I’d connected. He helped me get my start in sports journalism, graciously
agreeing to interviews about his St. V-M basketball team for stories I wrote as an
undergrad at Kent State. He was a hero and, at the time, a friend. We were both born in
Akron. He was drafted the same year I went to work on the NBA for ESPN. My Akron
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Beacon Journal colleagues joked that LeBron and I went to “the pros” together. So, right
or wrong, he was a hero to me. And now we had to part ways. It crushed me.
And then I had another thought. Why would my employer, ESPN, risk its
credibility by forfeiting regularly scheduled programming to provide a platform for his
73-minute, advertiser-free message? (ESPN shuffled the program schedule within a 24-
hour period and mutually agreed with James to donate all proceeds from the broadcast to
the Boys and Girls Club of America in order to secure the interview and ensure the
“exclusive.”)
Ultimately, this was an easy answer for me. ESPN chose to run with “The
Decision” because corporate executives knew it would bring massive ratings to an
otherwise boring Thursday summer night. People cared, therefore, the network cared.
We all cared about it. Networks, journalists, all the way down to the casual sports fan.
But why?

******

Sports heroes have been around since sports have existed. But the “hero” concept
has evolved substantially over the years. Our sports heroes today are not the same as
they were when spectator sports were young. The days of Jackie Robinson and Babe
Ruth carried more of an air of innocence and naivety when athletes seemed more
concerned about doing “right” by us and by their country.
For example, does anyone, aside from avid baseball fans, still consistently discuss
Ted Williams? In the 1940s, Williams was a star left fielder for the Boston Red Sox,
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considered by many the greatest pure hitter baseball has ever seen. The only thing that
could have outshined this nugget on his resume was the fact that he served five years of
active duty in the military at the peak of his baseball career, serving as a flight instructor
in World War II and as a combat pilot in the conflict in Korea. He was Derek Jeter meets
Tom Cruise in “Top Gun.”
Or does anyone tweet about Jesse Owens these days? Owens starred in the 1936
Summer Olympics in Berlin, showing courage in the face of racial hatred. He
represented his country with a level of determination most of us cannot even fathom, and
brought home four track and field gold medals.
Today, things are different. Most of us cannot imagine one of our sports heroes
wearing less-than pristine clothing off the court/field, let alone “getting their hands
dirty.” Many athletes even struggle to fulfill the bare minimum public appearance
requirements imposed by collective bargaining agreements in their respective league.
And as a society, we know the majority of our sports heroes are not really heroic. Not the
way they used to be – or, at the least, were portrayed. We know they whine about
luxuries to which we can’t even relate. They complain about making public appearances
and signing autographs. They are obstinate in maintaining their positions when contract
negotiations loom and they insist (often with the help of a greedy agent) that, say, $12.4
million dollars a year to play a game every day isn’t nearly as good as $13.2 million.
Most of us wouldn’t know the difference between a point-two or point-four anything in
our own salaries.
We know we have better things to do than spend hours scanning Twitter and
Facebook for our beloved team updates. But we do it, anyway. And, as we do, there’s a
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persistent, nagging question in the back of our minds, whether we choose to admit it to
ourselves or not. In light of what most of us know about the sports heroes of old, why are
today’s athletes considered “heroes”?
“A sports hero is a very personal thing,” said Jay Harris, a SportsCenter anchor
for ESPN. “It’s someone who plays sports and does something remarkable. It’s like love
and money, it’s universal. When you can say, ‘I did that,’ or ‘I used to do that,’ or ‘I can
do that,’ it brings the people who play sports for a living that much closer, even though in
reality they really aren’t.”
What most of us do not readily consider is that sports heroes may or may not have
completely known what they signed up for when they decided to pursue a career in the
game they love. Nancy Lieberman, Basketball Hall of Famer, two-time Olympian and
pioneer in women’s professional athletics, has a unique collection of experiences as both
a sports hero and as one who mentors the sports heroes of tomorrow when she coaches.
“Being a hero is something put on us,” Lieberman told me. “We play sports
because it’s fun and because we like it. Once you reach success at a certain level, you
become a hero or a role model. Those are pretty important words. You have an example
to set and that’s an honor and a privilege.”
This honor isn’t something many sports figures contemplate in signing a first
contract. Instead, and understandably, the primary concern is making the cut, being
deemed a “great athlete.” Not necessarily a “great person.” Seeing as how sports heroes
are mere mortals, they are often unaware how their actions will influence and determine
headlines on the sports pages or the tease copy of flagship shows on sports networks.
With this attention comes influence, and with influence comes accountability.
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“It carries a lot of responsibility,” she continued. “You have a commitment every
day to excellence. You have to have consistency in the person you are to be real, to be
genuine.”
But do our athletes understand this? Do we even comprehend this?
Charles Barkley certainly issued the challenge back in 1993 with his famous Nike
commercial in which he reminded one and all that he was “not a role model,” adding,
“I’m not paid to be a role model. I’m paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court.
Parents should be role models.”
This commercial sparked national debate about whether or not athletes are – or
are not – role models. If the final word of the collective public says they are, is it really
their choice? Barkley publicly fought this implication, but at the end of the day, he
proved outnumbered. It’s not really his call. Don’t the responsibilities of heroism come
prepackaged with the endorsement deals, signing bonuses, championship titles and
extravagant lifestyles? Barkley was later quoted saying, “There are 1,000 guys in jail
who can dunk a basketball – should they be role models?” But he’s missing the point.
He wasn’t considered a role model just for his tremendous skills. He was also a
superstar, constantly in the spotlight. Great feats accomplished on the court/field
partnered with a “star” personality garner attention, and some athletes simply don’t
understand they cannot control the implications and manifestations of this attention.
Twenty or so years later, LeBron was both role model to the people of Cleveland and a
very public representation to the world of the values of the town. That wasn’t really his
call, either. But it was what it was. People cared. And they hurt when they were
disappointed. When it comes to voluntarily putting themselves in the spotlight, accepting
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the accolades, posing with the trophies, athletes are simultaneously volunteering
themselves to harbor this responsibility. And whether or not Barkley or LeBron wanted
to be a role model or a hero, the end result is out of their hands whether they embrace it
or not. Many sports heroes themselves had personal heroes to look to for motivation
when growing up. It happens to all of us.

******

Even when we understand our sports heroes are flawed and may not necessarily
be heroic, we somehow find other reasons to build them up to make them so. It’s
something we need to do. Barkley didn’t understand, and most likely LeBron may not
yet totally understand, that it’s important for all of us to have something and someone to
believe in. And the heroes themselves don’t get to pick who’s “it.” Some athletes and
coaches take this responsibility seriously and some do not. Fortunately for her fans,
Lieberman does.
“I have a chance to make you smile, to make you happy,” she said. “I’m a
servant. Service to others is the rent you pay for your time here on earth.”
If some athletes take their role, chosen or not, as a hero, why do we treat them all
the same, regardless of how they act when not playing the game?
“They are cultural touchstones,” said Ramona Shelburne, a Los Angeles-based
sports news columnist for ESPNLA.com. “In our society, now, fans view athletes as
celebrities. [Watching a game] we get to act out a lot of our emotions and feel a sense of
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belonging. I don’t get to yell at my boss like that; it’s not socially acceptable. But these
guys aren’t gonna talk back to us. Sports is a safe thing to care about.”
And in many ways, sports heroes and their stories have surpassed the importance
of the game itself.
“I write about conflict, I write about stars,” Shelburne said. “Scores aren’t really
relevant anymore. Conflict makes a good story. You write about stars because that’s
what people want to read about.”
When conflict arises, and our heroes fall, we care even more because we have
constant access to the comings and goings of the heroes into whom we invest so much
time and energy.
“When sports heroes let us down, our emotions run the gamut,” said Arthur
Triche, vice president of media relations for the Atlanta Hawks. “It’s because we’re
exposed to this info ad nauseum. We live vicariously through them. But the term ‘hero’
has been watered-down as it relates to sports.”
It’s important to consider the level of exposure in modern times when comparing
the classic to the current.
“The early heroes – Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Jim Brown and what they
had to go through – they paid the price,” said Triche. “They paved the way. Heroes are
admired for courage and noble qualities. But they weren’t scrutinized as much as today’s
players. They’re human beings, first and foremost, and we lose sight of that.”
Just as we may forget our sports heroes are only human, our sports heroes may
forget they have a tremendous impact on their fans. This disconnect, I came to find out,
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is based on what Shelburne describes as living “in a bubble.” Either lifestyle and
celebrity or simple self-preservation keeps the bubble intact.
“In a major-league locker room, you learn quick as a player that this is a business
and it’s about money,” she said. “You can be traded tomorrow. Most of these guys want
to connect with fans but the reality is, tomorrow they could be gone.”
As the bubble pertains to LeBron, Shelburne said, “If you went up to LeBron and
told him how he affected you [that day], I think he’d be surprised. To him, it was less
about the rejection of Cleveland as it was his need to be his own man. But he should
have known how bad it would hurt to leave the way he did. But he didn’t have mature
people around him.”
Regardless of this bubble and separation from reality, or a hero’s place on the
cultural timeline, sports heroes need to understand the responsibility they have, whether
they chose it or not.
The consequences for our heroes and the fans when these athletes’ decisions lead
to tragedy create events and memories we talk about and obsess over for years to come.

******

Most sports fans knew when they woke up on June 17, 1994, that this particular
Friday would be a monumental day in sports. The New York Rangers were scheduled for
a parade through the Canyon of Heroes in New York to celebrate their first Stanley Cup
victory in 44 years three days earlier. Arnold Palmer was playing his last round of golf at
the U.S. Open in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. The FIFA World Cup was making its first
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appearance in the United States at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The NBA Finals
between the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks were knotted at two games apiece.
Innocuous drama permeated the sports scene that Friday. That is, until drama of a
more serious kind bled over to the mainstream. This particular day, according to L.A.-
based clinical psychologist and attorney Rex Beaber, “changed the way we viewed our
sports personalities.”
Since I didn’t watch hockey at the time, the Rangers’ big victory parade was not
on my radar. I didn’t watch soccer, either. FIFA to me, back then, was probably a
branch of the government. And only my Dad cared about how Arnold Palmer was doing
at the U.S. Open. And if the Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t in the Finals, who cared? In
my world, it was a big night at Madison Square Garden only because Bob Costas was
there.
I had better things to do that day. I was a 16-year-old whose biggest concern was
studying for my driver’s test.
But my day of indifference changed in a “New York minute” when I heard Mom
yell from the living room, “Kids! You gotta see this!”
As I turned the corner from the kitchen after sprinting down the staircase, I saw it,
but I didn’t believe it. There he was, Mr. O. J. Simpson, sitting in the back seat of a
white Ford Bronco, barreling down some Los Angeles highway. At first glance, it looked
like just another high-speed car chase. My initial reaction of “oh, this is cool” began to
give way to an unrelenting tug in the pit of my stomach. This was no joke and it was not
cool. He was running from the police. This was serious. What did he do?
! *(!
Everyone cared about O.J. Simpson. He was America’s sweetheart. Ever since
his early days as a Heisman Trophy-winning tailback at the University of Southern
California, he was beloved by football fans everywhere. His fan base grew long after his
Hall of Fame NFL career with the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers as a
respected NFL television analyst. O.J. won over the hearts of non-sports fans when he
appeared in the Naked Gun movies alongside Leslie Nielsen and when he ran through
airports in Hertz rental car commercials. That was how I knew him. He was a charming
personality who happened to have a background in sports and was loaded with charisma
with a penchant for comedic timing.
I looked up to him, as did my classmates. But this adoration slowly crumbled as
the details of his situation unfolded. He was wanted for murder. Murder. And as his
Bronco dodged cars and pedestrians in an eerily similar manner to the way he eluded
defensive backs on the field, I somehow knew this hero would fall. But I wasn’t ready to
admit it.
My heart sank even further as Commander David Gascon, spokesman for the Los
Angeles Police Department, announced in a press conference:
“Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department sought and obtained a
warrant for the arrest of O.J. Simpson, charging him with the murders of his ex-wife
Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman. Mr. Simpson was
scheduled to surrender this morning to the Los Angeles Police Department. Initially, that
was 11 o'clock. It then became 11:45. Mr. Simpson has not appeared. The Los Angeles
Police Department right now is actively searching for Mr. Simpson.”
! *)!
The two-and-a-half hours of chase elicited speculation and commentary from all
angles. I was glued to the television and could not move. The sights were shocking
enough, but I was immobilized by the sounds. The screeching of tires as police cars
roared their engines and fired up their sirens stirred an automatic response from me that
bordered on anxiety. The whirring of helicopters belonging to both law enforcement and
news stations and came pouring – seemingly unrelentingly – from the television … it all
hit me in a place I was not yet articulate enough to identify.
As the chase continued, Gil Garcetti, then the Los Angeles District Attorney,
made sure all of O.J.’s fans and spectators understood: "If you in any way are assisting
Mr. Simpson in avoiding justice – Mr. Simpson is a fugitive of justice right now.”
If the unfolding drama was this difficult for me to take, I couldn’t imagine how
this was impacting the people of Los Angeles. I was in Akron, Ohio, and L.A. was a
world away. Watching the residents of L.A. literally chase the white Bronco on foot,
while others slowed down in their cars on the opposing side of the 405 highway merely to
catch a glimpse of their (now) evasive hero, evoked an unexpected sympathy from me.
I watched as the crowd followed the chase all the way to Brentwood, its size
multiplying exponentially by the minute. Emotions ranged from anger (directed toward
the LAPD with some in the crowd chanting, “Free O.J.”) to sadness (with some openly
weeping in the street, turning their faces away because they couldn’t muster the strength
to behold the unfolding drama). Very few had an inkling of how far O.J. Simpson had yet
to fall.
Watching this moment in history was like watching an action movie, except it was
airing on a news network, or more accurately, every news network. NBC interrupted its
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NBA Finals coverage to provide updates on the situation. The network, to be clear,
absolutely had a commitment to its sports fans; this situation affected those fans, just as
much if not more than what was going on in Game 5.
The worst part of the chase came at the very end. And it wasn’t because O.J. was
about to be caught. It was because the threat of a looming suicide was in the air. Law
enforcement knew O.J. had a gun. An officer, later identified as Detective Tom Lange,
implored Simpson on a cell phone, "Juice, just toss the gun.
"Just toss it, Juice," Lange said. There was something awfully personal in the
detective’s voice, whether it was sincere or not. Maybe he was struggling in the same
way I was with all of this. Could he have been grappling with his own inner conflict of
staying true to his duty while letting go of earlier impressions of Simpson?
Time was suspended and the next several moments could have been several hours
for all I knew. “Throw the gun out the window, please,” Lange continued. “You’re
scaring everybody.”
There was collective doubt O.J. would even make it through this experience
alive. Was he seriously going to shoot himself? It was unbearable for me, an empathetic
teenager who only wanted to see heroes, sports or otherwise, be strong.
The events of this day made me doubt his innocence. His behavior was not that
of an innocent man. Deep down I knew something wasn’t right. But I ached for him. I
felt sorry for him. Months later, I prayed the glove wouldn’t fit. But my, as well as most
people’s, need for a hero superseded all of that.
“O.J. was a very digestible hero,” Shelburne said as we discussed what makes,
and potentially destroys, a sports hero. “He was someone who came from my backyard.
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He came from a rough background but he wasn’t defined by it. We could get behind him
and root for him because he wasn’t born with what he got. He made you feel good about
yourself.”
In truth, I was relieved when the not guilty verdict came down on October 4,
1995. I didn't yet know why. Ultimately, I didn't want to believe he did it. I didn’t want
to believe in a world where heroes could fall. I still don’t. Something ached inside me
when I gave credence to the possibility that he murdered two people. And since I didn’t
want to believe it, I silently rejoiced when the jury granted me that wish. Even though
the experts would disagree and racial differences would be emphasized, I was somehow
able, through the verdict of innocence, to retreat back into my protected world where
heroes saved people and the criminal justice system saved them when they were in
trouble. But yet, still, something didn’t sit right.
The effects of that case left me long before Simpson appeared in the news again.
It wasn’t during his civil trial in 1997, where he was found liable for Goldman’s wrongful
death and the repeated battery of Brown, but for a trial held for a completely unrelated
crime. The sentence on that case (use of a deadly weapon and kidnapping on September
13, 2008) was issued not from a jury, prone to the same hero effects as I, but from
Nevada District Court Judge Jackie Glass on December 4, 2008. The man had
miraculously held on to his freedom thus far. This time, though, his freedom was
seriously in question.
He was sentenced while standing in a sterile blue uniform with bags under his
eyes and shadows all over his face. As the verdict came down, my head dropped.
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By now, I was consistently working in an ESPN control room. I had a front-row
seat to the decision-making and rundown planning. This third case was much less
dramatic than the prior two. Even so, deep down in my heart, that part that doubted his
innocence the first time surfaced again; it pained me to see the look on his face, yet again,
in the courtroom.
He stood in a Las Vegas courtroom, nearly begging. "Yes, Your Honor,” he said.
“I stand before you today sorry, somewhat confused. I feel apologetic to the people of
the state of Nevada. I wasn’t there to hurt anybody. I just wanted my personal things.
And I realize now it was stupid of me. I am sorry. I didn’t mean to steal anything from
anybody. And I didn’t know I was doing anything illegal. I’m sorry for all of it.”
“O.J. was an old man, out of the game, out of the spotlight,” Harris said. “There
are many who will proclaim his innocence until their dying day. Others will trumpet his
guilt. But he can’t run anymore.”
He was no longer useful to the sports world. But he still had use to me. I thought
this hero would have a last-ditch miracle up his sleeve to rise above adversity and inspire
us once more.
The control room was eerily quiet as Judge Glass read the verdict. Everyone
knew it was over. Yet somehow, I still believed him. I was eager to accept his apology.
Even at an age where I should have been jaded enough to reconsider my stance, I
believed my faith in him would be justified.
And yet, after years of witnessing his downfall, I finally let go and began to
mourn my fallen hero.
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The sentencing left me depressed. This hero took a fall, and it didn’t look like he
was ever coming back. This is where that infamous chase in the Bronco ultimately led
Simpson. Juice was out of gas.

******
Because they’re human, heroes fall. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but we
sometimes forget that, even though they aren’t really like us in their day-to-day life, they
still make mistakes like we do. And sometimes they make mistakes none of us would
ever contemplate making. And we especially don’t understand it when those mistakes
are extremely serious.
Michael Vick, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, was at the top of his game in
the spring of 2007. That July, the country was both shocked and deeply disturbed when
its beloved superstar quarterback was indicted in federal court on charges of active
participation in an underground dog-fighting ring. I considered Vick to be one of
America’s most revered sports heroes. Sports columnists collectively labeled Vick as a
“threat to the ACLs of defensive lineman everywhere.” He could evade his pursuers on
the field with ease while taking risks most quarterbacks wouldn’t dream of taking. He
was courageous. Surely courageous qualities rendered him a stand-up guy. Even as a
budding star at Virginia Tech, he showed fearlessness in the face of defenders who meant
to stop him by any means necessary. He ran toward his opponents. Ironically, they
could never catch him. Football connoisseurs and seasoned professionals in sports
journalism heralded this man as the next “great one.”
! "$!
Within hours of the initial announcement of the federal case, both general news
audiences and sports enthusiasts found themselves in a state of repulsion as the gruesome
details of Vick’s story dominated the airwaves and headlines provoked both informative
and polarizing effects. Animal lovers called for Vick’s imprisonment. And still I
believed that, surely, a hero could not fall this far.
Many sports fans wondered, through commentary and radio sports talk shows,
what made Michael Vick decide to participate in such heinous crimes with degenerates
on his own property? What would the judge and jury decide? How would the Atlanta
Falcons and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell proceed before Vick was proven guilty –
or if he was proven guilty? Would Vick decide to cooperate with law enforcement
officials? People were disgusted to hear Vick had assisted in the killing of innocent
animals through electrocution, hanging and drowning, whether actively or just as an
ambivalent bystander. Audiences were angry. He was no longer just a “fallen hero.”
That quickly, Vick had been transformed to a source of evil and now, it was obvious, he
would have to pay.
In this debate, there was no question who ultimately would earn this moral victory
and why: the hero or the innocent animals. No one could deny, in light of all the facts,
that, yet another hero had fallen.
Just one month later, in August 2007, Vick’s would appear in federal court and be
sentenced to 23 months in prison. There was no more room for debate. Vick was flat-out
guilty.
U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson said, as he rendered his decision, “While you
[Vick] have acknowledged guilt and apologized, I’m convinced it was not a momentary
! "%!
lapse of judgment on your part. You were a full partner.” Annemarie Lucas, the
supervisory special investigator for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals said in response to the verdict: “People in the animal world would be much less
forgiving than the people in the sports world. That’s what makes this case so unique. It’s
the mix of two worlds, with separate groups of very passionate people coming together.”
The aftermath of the court’s decision had a multi-dimensional impact on Vick, the
sports community, and his dedicated fan base. ESPN.com’s Howard Bryant focused on
Vick’s dismal future as an “ex-con,” but also provided an unusually optimistic point of
view. Maybe our hero could rise again, with the help of the former NFL coach and
mentor, Tony Dungy. Known mostly known for his time as head coach of the
Indianapolis Colts, Dungy adopted a “faith and family first” philosophy while coaching
and served as Vick’s informal advisor while Vick served time at the federal prison in
Leavenworth, Kansas.
Dungy said on “The Dan Patrick Show” in May 2009 that he would consistently
visit Vick and “really talk about life…talk about the Lord. I know he has made a
profession that he has accepted the Lord into his life…[I will] talk to him about what he’s
going to face.”
Bryant wrote: “Tony Dungy, he of the impeccable moral credentials –
compassionate in his religion, committed to character as much as to championships –
traveled to Kansas recently and met with the imprisoned Vick. In today’s sporting
landscape, few own a more respectable Good Housekeeping seal than Dungy.” If anyone
were to have a positive impact on Vick’s situation, according to Bryant, it was Tony
Dungy.
! "&!
And in 2012, Vick appeared, after years of standing before audiences to publicly
and repeatedly re-live his mistakes, to have risen again. He served his time, minded his
mentors and inspired the confidence of the Philadelphia Eagles’ then-head coach, Andy
Reid. Vick listened to the counsel of the professionals dedicated to helping him make a
comeback and wound up back on top of the list of the NFL’s top-selling jerseys. As he
nurtured his recovering career, he continued to speak out against the sins of dog fighting
and cultivate opposition to animal abuse across the country.
Maybe fallen heroes, capable of even the cruelest of crimes, can rise again.
Perhaps the most vindicating response of all for Vick came from the judge who
sent him to prison. Hudson told the Washington Post in 2010 that Vick is “an example of
how the system can work. I'm very happy for him. I wish him the best of success."
Vick was given another shot. He seized it.
“This is America,” Jay Harris said. “Vick hurt dogs. For many people, that’s
worse than killing people. This is the thing about sports. If you are still of use, you will
be forgiven because there is money to be made. Mike could, and can, still play. He was
afforded another chance. And to his credit, he has made the most of it.”
“People are gonna make mistakes. We can’t wait to tear someone down,” the
Atlanta Hawks’ Triche told me. “But America is a forgiving nation, depending on your
crime or indiscretion.”
Even though we morbidly enjoy seeing and talking about a hero’s fall, we are can
be very relieved to see them make a comeback – as long as they’ve worked for it.
“We don’t forgive them unless it seems they’ve been really knocked down or
until they are really sorry,” said Shelburne. “We like to see our heroes fall, but we really
! "'!
like to see them get back up. I don’t feel like you’re sorry just because you say you are.
You need to suffer. We want athletes to feel human and have the same life experiences
we do.”
For some, the question may remain – would Vick have changed if he had not been
caught? This is a choice we face in evaluating our heroes. We can either believe the best
or the worst.

******

Sports heroes today may not have the same commendable character traits as those
in earlier times. But they impact us all the same and, given the 24/7 news cycle and the
advent of the internet, most likely probably more.
Heroes fall, but they can rise again, especially because we are willing to forgive
them. There is something in our nature that drives us to search for heroes; someone to
motivate us, give us the means to connect with others and make us reach beyond
ourselves. We need our heroes. But one thing a true sports hero will tell you is that
everyone has the power within themselves to be heroic.
Sports offers just one way to find this truth.
“Sports teaches great life skills, teamwork, camaraderie,” Lieberman said.
“Fortune 500 companies are hiring more student-athletes. They can take criticism,
understand opponents and train hard. We want more of that in the world. But a hero is
not someone who gets lifted on your shoulders. It is one who lifts you up.”
! "(!
“Half the people love you, half the people hate you,” she added. “Just because we
make a lot of money and you see us on TV doesn’t mean we don’t have a heart or a
pulse.”
Lieberman uses her experiences as a hero and leader, both positive and negative,
to impart wisdom to future generations of heroes and to those seeking a hero. She
believes sports heroes have a responsibility to those who respect and admire them. But,
ultimately, each and every person has the power to be his or her own hero.
Perhaps, then, that is the most important thing our heroes can teach us. It’s what
Charles Barkley, in his way, was trying to say. It’s why the notion of heroes and role
models is and will forever be so layered, complicated and personal.
“See it, speak it, be it. But you have to believe in it. Why should anyone else
believe it if you don’t?” Lieberman said. “It starts with you and ends with you. Believe
in yourself. We can do anything, but you gotta believe it.”

! ")!
REFERENCES

Google. “Nike Air Commercial Charles Barkley.” YouTube.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMzdAZ3TjCA (accessed December 20, 2013).

Green Diamond Sports, Inc. “Navy Welcomes Williams WWII.” TedWilliams.com.
http://tedwilliams.com/index.php?page=milww2&level=2 (accessed June 10, 2012).

Harris, Jay. Interview by author. Bristol, CT, June 12, 2012.

Howard Bryant, “Vick’s reality: Life as an ex-con,” ESPN.com, May 19, 2009, assessed
May 6, 2011,
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=bryant_howard&id=4180017&src
=mobile

Juliet Macur, “Vick Receives 23 Months and a Lecture,” New York Times, December
11, 2007, accessed May 6, 2011,
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/sports/football/11vick.html?pagewanted=print&_r=
0

Lieberman, Nancy. Interview by author. Los Angeles, May 18, 2012.

Morgen, Brett. 30 for 30: June 17
th
, 1994. DVD. Directed by Brett Morgen. New York:
ESPN Films, 2010.

Rosalind S. Helderman, “‘Straight arrow’ considers health-care suit,” Washington Post,
December 8, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2010/12/07/AR2010120706982.html

Shelburne, Ramona. Interview by author. Los Angeles, May 17, 2012.

Triche, Arthur. Interview by author. Atlanta, June 14, 2012.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The following piece takes an in‐depth look at sports heroes and their place in modern‐day culture. It is written as a first‐person narrative by a female sports professional who has held a variety of jobs in sports journalism over the last 15 years. The piece was written for sports fans of all levels who can relate to the significance and relevance of sports figures in their day‐to‐day lives. It could be considered a long‐form sports magazine feature (ESPN The Magazine), a women's magazine feature (O, Women's Health, SELF) or a feature posted on a website geared specifically toward the female sports fan (espnW). ❧ Due to their power and influence on culture as a whole, heroes are consistently discussed, admired, questioned and examined. Heroes take many forms, whether real or imagined, exalted or fallen, worthy or sinful. Religious role models, fictional characters endowed with super‐human powers, and leaders of the oppressed comprise the many classifications of the modern‐day hero. Heroes of all kinds influence our daily conversations and private thoughts and, for many of us, our actions. ❧ Sports heroes are especially powerful due to their real, measurable ability to overcome adversity, face opponents and make their admirers believe anything is possible in the heat of competition. For this reason, society has made this elite group of athletes a priority. ❧ As journalists, our task is to understand not only how important sports figures are to the public, but also why they are so important. Putting their actions in context and making sense of why we care is the only way to do our due diligence to the truth while reporting the facts. Sometimes journalists must provide more answers than questions. In the realm of journalism where "winners and losers" are typically the focal point, sports audiences want to know their heroes intimately. Sports heroes are important to society for more than their ability to win or lose. Right or wrong, they are admired. Sports journalists can bring them closer, humanizing them while underscoring their widespread influence. The impact of the sports hero is impervious to the passing of time.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Krebs, Jill A. (author)

Core Title Everybody needs a hero

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Publication Date 02/21/2014

Defense Date 01/21/2014

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Athletes,culture,Heroes,journalism,LeBron,OAI-PMH Harvest,Sports

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Parks, Michael (committee chair), Abrahamson, Alan Y. (committee member), Durbin, Daniel T. (committee member)

Creator Email jill.krebs@espn.com,jillakrebs@yahoo.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-364859

Unique identifier UC11297207

Identifier etd-KrebsJillA-2264.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-364859 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-KrebsJillA-2264-0.pdf

Dmrecord 364859

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Krebs, Jill A.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA