IN BRIEF
A public spat. A drunken fall. A scathing comment. Professional
athletes, like many of us, occasionally do careless and reckless
things.
Unlike many of us, however, professional athletes are often
fined exceedingly large amounts of money, suspended or terminated
from their employment for doing these things. And you can almost be
certain that somewhere within the governing body's charge sheet
relating to the conduct, there will be an allegation that the
athlete has brought either him or herself or the game into
disrepute.
But what does this charge mean? And who really brings the game
into disrepute?
More often than not, when an athlete is charged by a governing
sporting body, one of the allegations will be that the athlete
brought the game into disrepute. Although less common, athletes can
also be charged with bringing themselves into disrepute.
