By Callahan McBride
Contributing Writer
It is undeniable that we worship professional athletes much like ancient Romans worshiped their gods. We spend Sundays watching them, choose them over studying on weeknights and buy countless items with their name and team branded on them, thus branding ourselves.
This is all well and good, as it is an accepted norm in today’s society. However, what happens when the athletes we worship become invincible to the laws of that very same society?
Oscar Pistorius is a world-renowned Olympian who overcame his grim genetics and became a runner despite having both legs amputated from the thigh down at a young age. He was the most amazing and intriguing athlete in the games this past summer, as he became the first paraplegic to compete against “able-bodied” athletes and reach the semi-finals.
This is why it was so shocking and, frankly, devastating when Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend in his home in South Africa on Valentine’s Day. While many fans and sports fanatics have a difficult time believing he could commit such an act, he did in fact pull the trigger, whether it was out of confusion or not.
So how do we treat a well-known athlete in a situation like this? One might think we treat them the way the law instructs us to, the way we would treat any civilian.
I, however, believe he was treated quite leniently considering the crime that was committed. I know when an average civilian is accused of murder, they are not likely walking around living life as usual within a week of the crime. Pistorius was granted bail almost a week later. The initial conditions of his bail indicated he must remain in the country, surrender his weapons and abstain from drinking alcohol. His bail conditions were then revised soon thereafter, allowing him to leave the country.
The people in support of this bail revision, including the judge, claim he is not a risk to society and is in stable mental condition. This is all well and good, but the man did commit murder, and I think he should be held more accountable for that. When an average citizen commits murder, you will be hard-pressed to find a judge who grants bail conditions based on what he thinks the accused may or may not be likely to do in the future. For example, an average civilian with no previous criminal record and no suspected reason to murder again would more than likely be kept in jail until his trial. The same is not true for Pistorius.
There is another important aspect to this crime, and that is the extremely high break-and-enter rate in South Africa. It has become a common occurrence for many people residing there. Pistorius’ lawyer informed the public that he will be claiming self-defense in the case. A burglar entered his home and he was apparently confused about where the burglar was actually located when he shot the gun, and where his girlfriend was located. The jury may have sympathy for Pistorius regardless of his athletic standing.
But, alas…as I sit and criticize the lack of punishment in this case, I somehow still feel sympathy for the blade runner. I was under the very strong impression that he was a respectable, even modest athlete, and so very different from the boisterous show boaters we see in sports today, like his fellow competitor Usain Bolt.
I want to believe his testimony, but it is undeniably sketchy. The question we must ask ourselves is how much will we let an athlete get away with.
