Le Culte Du Sport Doit-il être Encouragé En Toutes Circonstances ?

We can observe on this picture extracted from the Huffington post the famous Paralympian athlete, Oscar Pistorius during his trial. The South African athlete is accused of the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013. The trial has begun on March 3rd 2014 in Pretoria. The court has already heard 15 days of prosecution-led testimony, with the state accusing the paralympian of arguing with his girlfriend before deliberately shooting her through a locked toilet door. Pistorius denies a premeditated murder and claims he mistook her for a dangerous intruder. He shot her four times, hitting her in the head and arm, while she was in the toilet.

The murder trial was put off until April 7 because the Judge Thokozile Masipa announced that one of her two assessors was ill. Under South African law, there is no jury system and two assessors, normally lawyers or retired magistrates, help the judge reach a decision in serious cases. The delay gives Pistorius’ legal team another week to prepare their case. If he is convicted of murder, Oscar Pistorius, could be sentenced to at least 25 years in jail.

On this picture we can see Oscar Pistorius who is hiding his face with his hands. We can imagine he is crying. The journalists present him as very sensitive. They say that he spent hours vomiting when he was forced to relieve seeing Reeva Steenkamp’s mortal wounds front of the screen during the trial.

Moreover the interest for this trial exceeds largely the borders of South Africa. For the first time in the history of the country, the trial is televised. What usually remains inside the court is going to be broadcast on a specific channel.

This affair fascinates the whole world because it includes a lot of the ingredients of a good media story. Indeed Pistorius was a national star. South Africans and millions of athletics fans around the world saw him as a symbol of triumph over physical adversity. He won a battle against athletics authorities for the right to compete against able-bodied men, becoming the first amputee runner at an Olympics when he reached the 400 meters semi-final in London in 2012.

In our society the sportsmen are often set up as models, but this case shows us that heroes can also have their weaknesses. A young woman was killed without reason and at this moment there are several elements which can justify the culpability of Oscar Piscorius. For example the area on the night of the shooting has told the court they heard screams, shots and bangs.

The progress of the story and the conclusion of the trial will maybe encourage us to question ourselves: Must the cult of the sportsmen be encouraged?

Let's hope his social status will not make him a privileged defendant, and justice will be done regardless as who he represents, to prove that nobody can break the law without consequences. On the other hand the fact that his trial got a great deal of media attention can lead to another risk which is also damaging for the impartiality of the south African justice. South African judges could take the opportunity to show the world that nobody have preferential treatments, and to do so make an example with Oscar Pistorius’ case.

...