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Rozner: Some days, sports not easy to watch

It is not easy being a sports fan these days.

At least not as easy as it used to be when we didn't have as much information, when we didn't know as much about what players did in their time away from the games they play.

It's when we didn't know the truly horrible things some of them do to their loved ones, to acquaintances, to strangers.

Now with eyes wide open we are challenged with trying to compartmentalize the games we watch them play from the lives they lead.

Of course, not everyone struggles. For some fanatics, it's surprisingly easy. When crime is in the news involving their favorite players, they worship their sports heroes with no thought or compassion for the victims of those crimes.

Does not faze them at all.

But for many it is tough, and I hear from a lot of you daily. It's difficult to separate the human side of it from the outcome of a game.

I hear you.

It feels dirty to see players making millions, sometimes tens of millions, and going about their lives, performing on stage as if nothing has occurred, celebrating each success as if they've never harmed anyone.

Sports are supposed to be fun, an escape from the misery of daily war updates, nauseating partisan politics, economic hardship, murder rates in Chicago and changes in terror-alert levels.

But when athletes have done awful things, and then received complete protection or absolution from fans, teammates, executives and owners, not to mention the league in which they play, it's hardly an escape.

It's a constant reminder - and that's no way to enjoy your day.

Once they've been in the headlines, it's difficult to ever view them the same, and sometimes impossible to look at the uniform and not think of the crime.

But team owners look the other way with hopes it might bring another win or two, and others close their eyes, pretending nothing happened and dreaming of titles, parades and profit.

Maybe you've wondered how a man like Jerry Jones sleeps at night, the way he defends Greg Hardy; on a mattress that might have cost millions, he likely sleeps rather well.

Yeah, it's sickening - but not to everyone.

Many thousands stand and cheer and are completely unaffected. They believe that because a player is great, it means he's a great human and can't possibly be guilty of a crime.

But in the wake of all those victories, celebrations and fist-pumps is a trail of domestic violence, sexual assault and so many horrible forms of abuse, so many lives ruined by so many so-called heroes.

Maybe you're the type who can watch your favorite team and not think about what a particular player has done to hurt someone else.

Maybe you can compartmentalize and separate the game from the horrific act.

Maybe you just don't care because your team matters more to you than anything else in the world.

Or maybe you're the type that can't get past it that easily. You can't watch a team like the Cowboys without being disgusted by what Greg Hardy has done.

That's a feeling described frequently these days, a sentiment communicated to me through email, a call on the radio or maybe a tweet from a lonely voice, not understanding there are so many fans who feel the same way, that watching sports isn't easy some days for a lot of fans.

Just know that you are not alone.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Hear Barry Rozner on WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.

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