Manny may regret his remarks
Photo: (Getty Images)
Ashley Graham breaking down barriers
Photo: (James Macari)
Over the weekend during a TV interview in the Philippines world renowned boxer Manny Pacquiao made some derogatory remarks toward the gay community. The boxer reportedly said "gay couples are worse than animals." I believe that professional athletes need to be held more accountable for the things they say because many people look up to people as role models. Manny went on to say "Do you see animals mating with the same sex? Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female. If men mate with men and women mate with women they are worse than animals.” These comments are uncalled for and never needed to be expressed while he was on the public stage. In reaction to these comments, Nike has cut all ties with one of there biggest athletes that they endorse. Who can blame them for ending a relationship that lasted more than a decade, nobody wants to be sponsoring someone who represents such prejudice towards any group of people. Despite negatory instances like this one, todays world of sports is embracing diversity better than ever before. Today with the release of the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition we can see for the first time a plus sized cover girl. This shows that people of every size, shape, color, or background can be expressed through the world of sports. Diversity is becoming ever more important in society we live in today so we must not be quick to judge or put down people who might be different from ourselves.
The Teflon President, The Gipper, Ronald the Right, these nicknames can only describe my favorite president Ronald Reagan. Our 40th president was considered one of the best from a job stand point. Reagan reduced unemployment rate by more than 2% while in office and also signed into law federal income tax cuts. More memorable things that Reagan did during his 8 years in office was surviving an assignation attempt and appointing the first woman into the Supreme Court. Reagan wasn't the typical president, he was involved in radio and acting in films. We will always remember that Reagan got us through the first 8 years of the Cold War which was a difficult time in U.S. history. Ronald Reagan will always be one of my favorite presidents in the history of our great country.
Athletes are looked up to by many people in our society for their talents and the way that they carry themselves. With the ever expanding world of social media it is easy to follow and connect to any athlete we want. Wether you are a sports analyst or a fan you can stay on top of any athlete you have interest in; because of this we see the good and the bad that formulates from each athlete we follow. The media that surrounds these competitors is always looking for the next big story that will spark interest to the public whether it is something notable from there performance on the field or something interesting in there personal lives. Today there seems like there is no line between an athletes personal life and there professional life, where do we draw the line?
College football is the most watched sport out of any collegiate level sport there is, so these players are constantly in the spotlight. Though not all collegiate football players receive the same amount of attention due to how they perform on the field. The players that stand out from the rest are the ones who make big plays and have the stats to prove it. These impact players are being watched by everyone including NFL scouts for a potential chance to pursue a career in the NFL. In 2013 The NFL implemented the "Three-Year Rule" that requires a college football player to complete three years of college eligibility before entering into the professional level; which means that these players who are gifted enough to compete at the professional level could be making six figures before they even graduate. The many athletes who choose to go this route before they graduate are thrown into stardom directly after the draft. Other big time players like Heisman recipients are already stars before they even touch a NFL field which attracts attention from everyone. These athletes are being being thrown into the world of fame faster than ever before. This intense spotlight is making players grow into adulthood at a very fast pace and many of these athletes are still young men that have a lot to learn about life and decision making. So ask yourself what would you do if you were a 21 year old that was given a bigger salary than 90% of people in the country?
The Money Sign, Manziel's signature move Photo: (Time Magazine)
One of the most talked about athletes since the 2014 NFL draft is Johnny Manziel. Johnny Manziel is a perfect example of getting big in a small amount of time. As the quarterback for Texas A&M he broke many records and won the Heisman trophy in only his first year of playing, being the first Redshirt freshman in history to do so. You can only imagine the attention and hype that was surrounding this young man. Everyone knew that this kid was going to be big and the nickname of "Johnny Football" was born. With Johnny Manziel going into his Redshirt Sophomore year the Texas A&M football team was expected to raise the bar even more although they had lost a couple key wide receivers. As the season progressed Johnny was producing similar numbers from his previous year and continued to produce wins.
Manziel scrambles to find open Receiver Photo: (Jason Miller)
Not a bright future in Cleveland Photo: (John Medley)
After the end of the season Johnny decided to enter the draft. In 2014, with the 22nd overall pick the Cleveland Browns drafted Johnny Manziel. After the draft it was not uncommon to see Johnny at Cleveland Cavaliers games and or out and about with other famed celebrities. Hopes in Cleveland for Johnny to save their team were high and talk about Manziel being the starter for The Browns were floating around. Johnny got his first chance in a preseason game where he showed a glimpse of what he can do in the NFL. The next preseason game Johnny showed his immature side when he let Washington's crowd got into his head then Manziel proceeded to 'flip' off the crowd and he was fined $12,000 by the NFL. This incident seemed to sideline Manziel throughout the season while Brian Hoyer took the helm of the offense. Manziel's work ethic was questioned during his rookie season after he felt that he was the better candidate for the starting job. Overall a uneventful year for the highly sought after Johnny Football. Johnny started off his second year in NFL in the first game of the season when starting quarterback Josh McCown went down with an injury, he had noticeable improvements in his play from the year before. Manziel started the second game where he lead the team to a win over the Titans, despite the win Johnny would not play again till week 7. More rumors arose that Manziel was late to meetings and missed practices showed that he was not happy with the coaching decisions. Manziel made his second start in week 9 and was named the starter for the rest of the year, but shortly after this decision was reconsidered after a video of Johnny partying in Texas arose in social media over a bye week. Johnny finished the regular season with only one more appearance in the second to last game where he beat San Francisco. Talk of the future of Manziel in Cleveland wasn't looking to good after the season meanwhile Manziel's partying didn't seem to slow down. On January 30, 2016 the police received a assault complaint where Johnny was the suspect. The report said that Johnny supposedly struck his girlfriend multiple times and said "shut up or I'll kill us both" to her. Authorities are still under investigation into the involvement of Manziel. Cleveland owner Jimmy Hallam's relationship with Johnny seems to be unfixable at this point. Also rumors of Johnny showing up drunk to practice were covered up by the Browns to protect their player but after this it is hard to see if any NFL team will take a chance on Manziel. Manziel has refused to enter rehab twice in the last two weeks and Johnny's father doesn't think he will make it to his 24th birthday if he does not seek help.Johnny Manziel is clear evidence of how the limelight can make people stray off the path when exposed to temptations and large amounts of money at a young age.The once great Johnny Manziel seems to be nonexistent, you can only guess why someone so young and talented can already be washed up. This story seems all to familiar for Charlie Sheen, who even reached out to Manziel stating "it's time 2 refocus all of your energy on health & Football! it's never 2 late 2 get a fresh start!." Is Johnny Manziel the victim of a kid growing up too fast or is he going to continue on this path to being the next Charlie?
What Miguel prefers to do in his free time, sleep.
Contemplation at its finest.
Miguel whipping up some food.
Stephen Conway is here with his friend Miguel, who is a freshman at Avila University. Avila is the first college that Miguel has been too and he says he enjoys it throughly. Miguel says that he chose to come to Avila because it is close to his home and it is just the right size for himself. Miguel is from Liberty Missouri so it is not a excruciating drive for him if he is feeling home sick. Miguel is planning on majoring in vocal performance because of his passion for singing and producing music. Music has impacted Miguel since he was a child and is what he wants to do for the rest of his life. Rumors around campus say that Miguel has the deepest voice out of every other student. Miguel lives on campus in carondelete hall with one other roommate named Vinny. In his first semester of college, Miguel had a roommate who he didn't enjoy living with due to cleanliness, hygiene, and other personal reasons so Miguel is happy Vinny is his new roommate. Even though Miguel doesn't play a sport in college he loves to compete in the many different intermural sports that Avila has to offer. When Miguel isn't in his dorm room studying theres a good chance you will see him shooting pool down in the eagles nest or catching a workout in the Mabee field house. If you ever get a chance to have a conversation with Miguel Roman you will learn that he is a nice respectable person that would do anything for you. One of Miguel’s greatest fears is weakness, Miguel says that weakness and failure go hand in hand. Miguel doesn't like that idea of losing and he prides himself by aways finding ways to put himself in a winning position. One thing that Miguel believes strongly about is that not all stories need happy endings, what he means by this is that not everything we do is going to work out the exact way we want them too so we must perceiver and move on. One thing that Miguel regrets in his life is anytime that he has quit or didn't stand up to make his case so that his voice was heard. Miguel believes that walking away from things is the same as taking a loss. On a less serious side Miguel shared a few words in his vocabulary that he overuses such as “swag” or “dope”. Miguel’s reasoning behind saying these words are because those word have became so cliche and annoying to people that its funny when it bothers them.
