Subscribe“Tiger Woods and Chanukah”
You just knew this was out there somewhere, didn’t you?
The essay by Rabbi Benjamin Blech appeared on Aish.com:
The Tiger Woods episode presents a fascinating question that is connected to the heart of Chanukah: Does personal dereliction of character in any way diminish Tiger Wood’s standing as a sports hero? Should morality play any role in the way in which we judge people whose claim to fame is based on their expertise on the playing field? Is marital infidelity a sin serious enough to warrant Nike canceling his endorsement contract because Tiger no longer deserves the status of a hero — a man worthy of being looked up to as a role model?
The debate has passionate spokesmen on both sides of the issue. But for Jews sensitive to the spiritual messages of the holidays we should certainly include in our deliberations a truth central to the holiday of Chanukah that will shortly be with us.
You can read the entire essay here.
The real point is that you shouldn’t make heroes out of people that you don’t know, at least not if your definition of heroism involves character issues that you can’t possibly know. Many people conflate athletic achievement with character and that’s a mistake. There are many people more deserving of adulation than athletes.
But the essay raises some troubling issues because not all flaws and virtues are equal. Martin Luther King was apparently a philanderer and a plagerist. Does that mean he is not a hero for his obvious contributions to humanity? It’s simply not as black and white as the author seems to think with respect to whether someone can be a “hero” even though his character may be lacking in some respects.