No such thing as privacy or decency

Eric Spruill
The Edmond Sun

August 13, 2008 10:43 pm

— The Internet has once again taken it’s toll on the Big 12.
First it was Josh Jarboe — could have seen that coming from a mile away, just not in this fashion — now it’s two wrestlers from the University of Nebraska.
Earlier this week The Scarlet Project reported on its web site that Husker wrestlers Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan posed nude in pictures on Fratmentv.com, a pornography site that caters to gay men.
Then on Tuesday the two were kicked off the Nebraska wrestling team.
“If Nebraska is going to be pigheaded and kick him off unreasonably," said John Marsh, who operates the site according to the Associated Press. "There has to be another wrestling program that's going to want him."
I wouldn’t want them on my team. Who cares if Donahoe was a Big 12 and national champion, that would bring too much unwanted attention to a program.
What came out of Marsh’s mouth next was the most shocking. Shocking but true.
"I'm in my mid 40s, and my generation has a stigma about porn," he said. "The kids, the generation of the student-athletes, don't have that stigma. They really don't care.
"They've come from a Paris Hilton, Tommy Lee-Pamela Anderson sex tape generation, Myspace pages. The shame and stigma aren't there for them. They're mostly worried about what their parents are going to think, because their parents think it's horrifying."
The world has changed so much in the last decade. Internet sites like Youtube and Myspace are like tattoos, in that, they’re often personal, and years later you’ll probably regret it.
Kids think nobody but their friends view their personal pages which is a misconception. If you are of interest, everyone is going to be looking at your site. Nothing is private anymore.
Everything has changed, just look at sports and how the athletic apparel gets a little skimpier each year.
Look at the Olympic Games. Have you seen beach volleyball? Notice anything different about the men’s and the women’s games. The men are fully clothed, wearing tank tops and baggy shorts, while the women have a hard time covering their behinds.
Remember the Atlanta Games when U.S. Women’s Soccer player Brandy Chastain got crucified for ripping off her jersey, and parading around the stadium in a sports bra. Take a look around, that’s the norm now.
There is nothing more uncomfortable than going out on the field after a soccer game to get interviews and having 16-year-old girl’s take off their jersey’s right in front of everyone. It’s not shameful to them, but that was unheard of when I was in high school 10 years ago.
Who’s to blame? All I can think of are the MTV’s and VH1’s of the world, which by the way are no longer about the music, they’ve moved on to more important things like filth. Moved on to reality shows that promote sex and drug abuse.
The only advice I have is if you don’t want to become a headline, don’t do it. There is no such thing as privacy.