Muhammad Ali was a jerk. That's right, the greatest boxer of all time, and a man who put principle ahead of personal glory like no other before him, was an arrogant jerk.
Ali’s cockiness and embodiment of black excellence was loathed by white America. His charisma and swagger were half the reason he was The Greatest. So why are we trying to make sure our sports stars are as boring and humble as hell?
You could see the scorn headed for Paddy Barnes coming a mile away. Rio hasn’t gone according to script for the boys and girls of Team Ireland so far. The only thing that could have been predicted was the wave of sneering that met the only Irishman to win multiple Olympic medals for over 80 years.
Each critic was more original than the least. 'Maybe Paddy Barnes should have spent more time boxing and less time tweeting', 'Paddy Barnes looks a right eejit after all his tweeting', 'he’ll have plenty of time for selfies now', they bleated.
Paddy is the type of guy who would be the first to tell you where to go if he heard himself being compared to Ali, but isn’t that public revelry in his fall from grace not similar to the treatment afforded to the Louisville Lip?
Still not convinced? Ask any other sportsperson who had the audacity to be anything other than a humourless, controversy-shy robot.
Until recently, in football, the general consensus has been that the preening, arrogant, diva Cristiano Ronaldo is not to be admired. Ronaldo’s tantrums, his boasts of greatness and his fondness for ripping off his shirt at any opportunity have been pilloried. The antidote, we heard, was his genial and hard-working rival Lionel Messi.
How’d that work out? Well, Messi is now serving a suspended sentence for tax fraud and swanning around with peroxide blonde hair, an ill-matching scruffy beard and a dog he could ride on if he had a saddle.
On the other side, Ronaldo single-handedly carried a horrendously dull Portugal side to European Championship glory and football fans around the world bawled their hearts out with him as he hobbled up the steps to lift the trophy after getting injured during the match.
The list goes on and on. Serena Williams has been criticised for years for her ‘attitude’ on and off-court, James McClean was made public enemy number one for refusing to wear a poppy and even Gabby Douglas was slated for not holding her hand over her heart during the US national anthem.
You can argue about the relative merits of any of these controversies but the fact of the matter is, sport is a lot more dull when its stars aren’t free to be themselves.
For example, look at this year's Olympics and ask yourself what the best moment has been so far? A lot of you will (correctly) say Michael Phelps beating Chad le Clos to win the 20th gold medal of his storied career. That moment of glory wouldn’t have been half as sweet if it wasn’t for the personal animosity between the two; fuelled by countless the nasty barbs and stinging insults which have been traded for years.
It was entertainment at its very best. Sport, like it always has been, is the best theatre we have but it’s only ever as good as its entertainers.
They are gladiators. They are larger-than-life. The sooner you realise that, the better.
