Quote Originally Posted by Maxxxie View Post
So your argument is that sportspeople should only express an opinion that is not negative? Sounds like you're trying to rationalise self-censorship.

Cadel Evans is widely regarded as a whinger because he (rightly or wrongly) attributes his lack of wins to team members that didn't support him, mechanics who are incompetent etc etc. Is he also a bad sport? What if it's true that his teammates suck and the mechanics are bad?

How about prize fighters who trash talk each other before a fight? Is that poor sportsmanship? Or does the fact that they hug after the fight make it alright?

I think these guys are as entitled to express their opinions as anyone else. Of course some will disagree with their opinions. Some will think it unseemly (unsportsmanlike). Others will just say "meh". Guess I'm in the third camp

Max
Yep - I think I'm in that third camp with you. Perhaps it is the national "tell it like it is" ethos. But I must admit I even went a bit further down the list than "meh."

I actually couldn't see anything sore loser-ish, or even trash talking about it. To me it looked like a pretty straight forward response to some questions from a journo. There was no whinge that somebody else got treated better - in fact it really seemed to be a response to the fact that somebody else (perhaps Alberto?) who was doing the whinging that he didn't get the right wheels and that he got dropped...

I actually found very little to be offended by in any of the article other than the comment that LA admired AC as an athlete but it stopped there. And frankly, I've said pretty much the same about plenty of people in my life...ie "great engineer, terrific at their job, but that's where it stops." Or even better.."Really nice fellow, would do anything for you, but not really worth a crumpet as an engineer."

And I make the declaration that I find LA a pretty darned impressive athlete, a walking ego on legs, and a cancer survivor who seems pretty successful at wedding his fame to a charitable cause (whether or not very efficient) that does some good. So I am not really somebody who idolises him, but I don't really knock him either.

Like you said Maxxxie... "Meh!"