Joe Ehrmann was a Pro Bowl defensive tackle for the Baltimore Colts in the 1970s, became a minister, and for years has counseled professional coaches and athletes. So while the average local sports fan sees a series of infuriating and epic recent failures (America's Ryder Cup collapse, Tony Romo's five interceptions on Monday Night Football and the Texas Rangers' meltdown in Oakland) Ehrmann sees something else.
Suffering human beings."I think a lot of athletes say it doesn't bother them, but I think it has a profound impact on them," Ehrmann said Thursday. "You think Ryder Cup golfers or the baseball players, they've been doing that since they were little. Their whole identity is based on performance and when that performance goes south, the attitude and identity goes south, too -- your self-esteem and identity -- and that creates a whole host of issues."Thus, amid the widespread sporting froth and steady stream of Twitter rants, Ehrmann suggests something radical: a little compassion for those who play the game. Even with the big salaries and luxurious lifestyles, which in a cosmic sense, don't really mean that much, he says."I think we need understanding that there is really nothing that separates Joe Six Pack from the star golfer or that star baseball player," said Ehrmann, who was called the Most Important Coach in America by Parade magazine for his efforts to change the culture of American sports. "We all have the same kind of insecurities. Fear of failure; performance anxiety. Nobody is impervious to that."Tom Grieve, the Rangers' television analyst and a former major-league player, agrees."People don't have much understanding or compassion for that statement, 'They're the same as the rest of us.'" Grieve said Thursday, a day after the Rangers lost the American League West title to the Oakland A's, after holding the lead since early April. "The cynical way to look at it is that, 'Oh, yeah. He's just like me. He lives in Highland Park and has $50 million in the bank.' Well the money can't solve your problems if there is a sickness in your family, if one of your kids has a learning disability."And money, added Grieve, doesn't make public humiliation any easier to take."I can't imagine a person that doesn't care when they are criticized. When I hear a person who says, 'I don't care. I don't read the papers. I don't pay any attention.' Those are the people who care the most.'"In fact, it's often because fans care are so invested in their local teams that things can turn ugly in the aftermath of a tough loss.Social media and talk radio give everyone -- fans, pundits and the athletes themselves -- a forum to unleash their disappointment, sarcasm and pure anger."The one word that bothers me is when a writer or a columnist calls a professional athlete gutless," Grieve said. "These guys go to the plate and take a 100 mile per hour fastball off the helmet. These guys go out for a pass over the middle knowing they're going to get hit by a 250-pound linebacker. The golfer knows the weight of the world is on one putt. That's not fair. Believe me, you don't become a professional athlete if you are gutless."Ehrmann said many of the athletes targeted for such scrutiny are not whom we think. Unusual talent, he said, is often accompanied by deep insecurity."I think most athletes are given this gift they didn't ask for," he said. "Usually there is a sense of 'I don't deserve this.' There is a lack of merit to it. I think there is a deep-seated insecurity that's bred into professional athletes. I would say that is the number one common denominator."As a minister, Ehrmann said he tries to help athletes understand, "what you do is not who you are. If you want to be a better player, you have to be a better you."That's especially difficult when the games go bad."We've put athletes on that pedestal," Ehrmann said. "I think in the average person in the stands there is a sense of envy, a sense of unfairness that this person could have these things just because he could hit a ball. I think a lot of people take delight when those athletes fall through some kind of play or some kind of loss. ... I think what America suffers from is an empathy deficit disorder."But pro athletes are well aware of the occupational hazards, Grieve said."They realize it's like being a movie star that goes to the grocery store," he said. "People are going to be interested and ... you understand that the media and the fans have certain expectations."At the same time they are human," he added. "A lot of the fans get to know the players and understand that their kids get sick, they have to move, they have illnesses in their families. Once you bank the money, you really are the same as everybody else."And there is an easy way to avoid the scrutiny."Don't be a pro athlete," Grieve said. "Sit at home and watch it on TV and nobody will ever bother you. I'd rather take the criticism. I'd rather be upset from an unfair comment from a fan, I'd rather have people look at me negatively after I'd struck out with the bases loaded than never have put on a uniform and given it a shot. The more you push yourself, the more you try to rise to the occasion, the more you expose yourself to that."People that do most of the criticizing don't do anything but sit back and criticize," Grieve said. "That's just the way life is."Tim Madigan, 817-390-7544Twitter: @tsmadiganHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
