The Media Does as Much to Damage Elite Sport as It Does to Raise Its Profile in Society. Critically Discuss Drawing on the Relationship Between Sport, the Media and Sporting Celebrities

...

of sporting celebrities, which can cause damaging effects to the athletes and elite sports they play. As many elite sports attain a large supporter base, many fans see athletes as sporting celebrities and role models. This causes their interest to not only lie with their sporting favourites on the filed activity, but also their off the field behaviour (Mnookin, 2004). The off-field behaviour is usually where the most controversial, interesting and most importantly profitable news lies. For example, if an athlete performs excellent in their field of work, but is involved in a controversial incidents, it can provide a bad image to society. The message it would send would be that some celebrities believe that they are above social norms, and in some cases even above the law (Coomber, 2006). This is evident through the Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic. Bernard Tomic is a young twenty-three years star who is ranked no. 18 in the world. However, his off field behaviour has turned him into a dissident. His numerous run ins with the law, involving speeding fines and partying arrests, sets a bad image for all young successful athletes (Maasdorp, 2015). Illustrating how the media can send the damaging message that all young athletes have more money than they need, and are fundamentally abusing it.

Additionally, the media is often disapproved for using sports identities, usually women, for advertising their appearance off-field, rather than how they perform in their preferred sport. It is seen as an unethical to many individuals, as the media would rather exploited athlete’s bodies instead of their career. This is shown through Australian professional surfer Stephanie Gilmore. Stephanie Gilmore was signed by Quicksilver in 2013, in which she made a raunchy new ad which was slammed as "sexploitation", "all sex, no surf" and "soft porn". In fact, a petition was gathered with over 20,000 signatures to have it banned (Halloran, 2013). Many people also started to blame professional surfing for promoting sexualisation, instead of the brand who produced it through the media. This provides evidence that the media can have damages effects on elite sports through use of sporting celebrities.

Moreover, the media is able to encourage and reassure fans expectations of sporting celebrities, which can positively promote elite sport in society. Supporters believe athletes should uphold traditional social standards both on and off the field (Lines, 2001). According to Real (1996) many fans want and assume that sporting celebrities are meant to be likeable, and care about the world and others in it. For these two reason and more, many sporting celebrities become involved in social public relation events, in order to show society they can meet their expectations. For instance, Cristiano Ronaldo’s has been named as the “world’s most charitable sports star in 2015” (The Telegraph, 2015). It would be wrong to state that his large donations were only made for promoting his career. Although it is fair to say Cristiano Ronaldo’s charity work would definitely increase his press and popularity among all cultures around the wold. Therefore, the medias press on elite athletes good doings has a positive effect on sport.

In conclusion, the media can have drastic effects on various elite sports due to its ability to report worldwide. It has many advantages as discussed throughout the paper. Which in result overrides the damages it does have on society, and especially sporting celebrities.