Sportsmen must be more careful

2010-06-07 11:23

Elsabe Britsen and Marelize Barnard, Beeld

Cape Town - Former Springbok Errol Tobias says sportsmen should be careful how they behave off the field as it can influence their success on the sports field.

"Sportsmen beware. Women know you're well-off, which makes the temptation that much greater."

Tobias was speaking as more South African sportsmen were caught with their pants down.

The news about secret meetings between married Springbok lock Andries Bekker and a 22-year-old student, Alet Strydom, had barely broken last week, when it was reported that Benni McCarthy and Rowen Fernandes had been involved in a late-night party with a group of women at a hotel.

It's apparently due to these hotel room escapades that they were left out of the final Bafana Bafana World Cup squad.

"I've come round to Danie Craven's belief that you should play for loyalty and honour, and have another job to pay your bills.

Women 'throw themselves' at celebrity sportsmen

"But in the current professional era, the guys get big contracts. They are constantly in the spotlight. Women know these men are well-off, which makes the temptation that much bigger," said Tobias.

Gill Taylor, from the Macteal Maestros programme at the Institute for Sports Science in Cape Town, said that "some women literally throw themselves at these celebrity sportsmen, while this isn't usually the case with well-known sportswomen."

In order to handle this situation, the men need to learn certain life skills and put them into practise.

Many sportsmen focus only on sport, but there should always be a healthy balance. Without a balanced lifestyle they are more likely to fall into temptation, warned Taylor.

Clinton Gahwiler, head of psychology at the Sport Science Institute of South Africa, said the pressure faced by elite sportsmen is so much more intense than in the past.

Due to the "celebrity culture", some men invest far too much in their sport identity, meaning a large part of their self-esteem comes from their success in the sport arena.

"This can potentially create a fear of failure, which, ironically, prevents one from performing at your best."

Gahwiler said the fact that these sportsmen wear the national colours as ambassadors is complicated, since a person who has good ball skills doesn't necessarily have good life skills or emotional intelligence.

Human weaknesses

Another sports psychologist, Ilse Ferns, said she thinks well-known sportsmen are an easy target and are constantly being watched for the slightest transgressions.

Ferns, a senior lecturer in sports psychology at Unisa, said no-one is perfect, and sports stars are also human beings with needs, desires and human weaknesses.

Heinrich Grobbelaar, a lecturer in sports psychology at Stellenbosch University, said rugby players face several stressors, such as the physical exercise and injuries, as well as intense pressure to be consistent in their performance.

And when a player doesn't have strong roots in his spiritual and social life, it becomes tempting to escape by unwise means, such as using drugs.

Then there's the groupie factor.

"It happens on nearly every level. Whether they win or lose, players are later seen wearing their formal clothes. They might catch the eye of a group of women, and so they become targets," said Grobbelaar.