The news that John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy following his affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of his ex-Chelsea teammate Wayne Bridge, has ignited a debate about the conduct of sports stars. The 29-year-old, married to wife Toni and father of twins, has long been a tabloid fixture, but this latest scandal has cost him both the captaincy and potential sponsorship deals.
Terry's off-field life has been marked by a series of indiscretions, including an encounter with a blonde teenager in his Bentley hours after meeting her, and a dalliance with a 21-year-old woman on crutches in a nightclub toilet. Raised in Barking, Essex, Terry's rise from humble beginnings may be relevant, according to Phillip Hodson of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. He told the press that sports stars are "surrounded by honeytraps, con artists and gold diggers", and that fame "goes to their heads", leading them to believe they are above consequences.
The reaction to Terry's affair stands in contrast to the United States, where athletes in the NBA and NFL are often given what sportswriter John Feinstein called "second, third, fourth and 15th chances solely because of their talent". In a 2006 article for the Washington Post, Feinstein described a "Land of Never Wrong" for American athletes, where rules and decent behaviour are seen as optional. European observers have also expressed bewilderment at the furore, with Italian daily Corriere della Sera dismissing the affair as "scandalous entertainment".
In Britain, the press has been more puritanical, with near-universal approval for manager Fabio Capello's decision. The Daily Express said, "Capello acted with the ruthlessness required of a winner", while the Daily Mail's headline read, "Grazie, Signor Capello". The public, however, has given a more muted response, suggesting that while the media condemns, fans may be more forgiving. The long-term cost to Terry's reputation remains to be seen.
