Another week, another story

Greetings!

Another week, another huge sports story with legal implications. I'm not sure how many of you have followed the rise of Oscar Pistorius, but he is a South African sprinter. The more important point is that Pistorius is a double amputee and that he runs on plastic blades. And he ran fast enough to compete in the Olympics. Tragically on Valentine's Day, Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The initial reports were that the death was a Valentine's Day surprise gone wrong as Pistorius mistook Steenkamp for a burglar. This theory has already been ruled out due to today's revevlations that Steenkamp was shot through the bathroom door of Pistorius' apartment. Here's some more info (courtesy of CNN):

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/18/world/africa/south-africa-pistorius-case/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

There are so many different elements to this case it is hard to pick out just one. Violence against women is one facet that hopefully will get enough attention and won't be overshadowed by Pistorius' celebrity. Pistorius is considered a national hero in South Africa so the media coverage of his trial will be astounding. Police had apparently been called to Pistorius' apartment before to settle disputes between the two and there have been accusations that Pistorius' had a massive temper due to "roid-rage." As the trial unfolds more will come out about what exactly happened that night. Pistorius' has already lost some of his sponsors and more continue to leave. One very unfortunate ad that I saw was a picture of Pistorius leaving his starting blocks with the line, "I am the bullet in the chamber." Innocent at the time but now those words take on a whole new meaning.

I have found as I've gotten older that I have a harder time attempting to stay neutral in cases such as this. Crimes of this nature, especially if fueled by rage-inducing steroids are terrible. But, sometimes, these are the consequences from men who choose to do whatever possible to succeed. The case of Lance Armstrong is another example, though, many argue, that his cheating resulted in millions of dollars worth of funding for cancer research. The line continues to blur. And morality continues to suffer. Til next time.

Dave