The strongest negative reactions to my blog posts happen when I dare discuss sports celebrities and their infidelities. There’s something about sports celebrities that have many of you turn a blind eye toward their cheating.
Tolerating cheating, even from sports figures such as Mohammed Ali and Kobi Bryant amounts to being tolerant of infidelity. Somehow when an athlete reaches celebrity status, they become a role model for youth, no matter what immorality they practice. Kids will model what they see the celebrities do, including how they treat their husband or wife.
Although each celebrity had their share of affairs, daring to point out those items triggered some readers, which I suspect were actually trolls since they weren’t regular readers.
Take Mohammed Ali for instance. He vigorously refused to apologize for his affairs. If your spouse refused to apologize, you’d be raising hell with them. Things would be worse if they vigorously refused.
He was an outstanding athlete, yet his role modeling when it comes to marital fidelity was less than stellar. Many athletes reach the point where their athletic performance is the highest priority in their lives, even greater than their marriage.
I didn’t see similar reactions when pointing out adultery from entertainment celebrities. It’s as if adultery with entertainers and actors is taken in stride. No one takes offense at their cheating.
Not only is there a gender double standard when it comes to infidelity, there’s also a vocational double standard as well along with a celebrity status double standard. If you’re seeking a full turnaround when it comes to infidelity, these double standards become roadblocks. The message is that if your are an athlete, you are not held to moral standards.
Turning your marriage around involves shifting your priorities. It also involves hating infidelity, even when your favorite performer, politician, or sports celebrity indulges in it.
The need for brutal honesty is essential for making progress in affair recovery. It also means being honest in your discussions about celebrity athletes and their cheating. Although Ali didn’t cheat in the ring, he cheated in the bedroom. That was an important point and one that needed to be made.
Daring to discuss infidelity from athletes, politicians or entertainment personalities can create push-back. However, it’s a necessary part of making progress when recovering from an affair. That’s why it’s important to look beyond celebrity status and see their behavior for what it is. It is adultery, disloyalty, and a bad example.
In the video, “Getting Past the Affair Crisis“, I address the need for being honest with yourself and your spouse about what happened. Without honesty in that area, the two of you won’t progress very far in recovering from what happened.
Instead of dancing around the topics, now is the time to download the video and learn ways of dealing with it directly. It will help you and your spouse.
Click and download today.
Keeping It Real,
Jeff
