Foreword
2007; Volume: 2; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/jsm.0.0001
ISSN1940-5073
Autores ResumoForeword Christine Brennan (bio) It used to be that when a reader reached for the sports section, he or she found nothing but fun and games. Not anymore. There are days when one might think they picked up the news section by mistake. Steroids, arrests, negotiations, strikes, lockouts: that's the sports section, circa 2007. No longer the "toy department," the sports section is not the escape that it once was, but instead, a mirror of our society. And I, for one, am glad it is. The days of buddying up to ballplayers, of keeping their secrets, of not telling the consumer and fan what was really going on—those days are mostly long gone. Look at the steroid controversy in baseball. It's stunning that this issue took so long to bubble to the surface, but now that it has, readers are aware that they should be skeptical of home-run chases, and that's good. If young athletes are emulating Barry Bonds and glorying in his home runs, it's right that the media discuss the steroid issues swirling around him. (It's proper even if kids aren't trying to be the next Bonds, of course.) If he has been cheating for years by using steroids, we're all better off knowing about it. If that spoils the fun of some fans in San Francisco, so be it. It's far more important that parents and children (including kids tempted to take performance-enhancing substances because of Bonds' feats) know the truth about him. And that's our job; not to be cheerleaders, but to tell as much as we know about what's going on behind the scenes and on the playing field. It's not just the steroid issue: it's the Duke men's lacrosse story, minority hirings in sports, security at the Olympics, cities building new sports complexes. Journalism has entered the world of sports in a huge way, and it's about time. [End Page xi] Christine Brennan Christine Brennan is an award-winning sports columnist for USA Today , best-selling author, and commentator for ABC News, ESPN, NPR and Fox Radio Sports. A leading expert on the Olympics and women's sports issues, she is also a nationally-known speaker. Copyright © 2007 University of Nebraska Press
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