Just days before Khloé Kardashian gave birth, reports broke that the baby’s father, NBA player Tristan Thompson, had allegedly cheated on her. One common refrain among outraged onlookers: “There’s no way Khloé didn’t know about this. He’s an athlete.”

He’s an athlete?

The implication is that such sleazy behavior should be expected because, after all, he plays professional sports for a living. Grown men playing boys’ games can’t be trusted to act like responsible adults. Especially when they’re celebrities because of it.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a 1970 Lakers game Getty/Cosmopolitan

This is a pervasive opinion people have of pro athletes—and not even the worst one. But that doesn’t make it true or acceptable. Imagine how different the response would be if the comment were, “He’s black.” But athletes are expected to accept the insulting stereotypes, shut up, and dribble.

This offensive characterization is in no way on par with the much worse stereotyping of women, people of color, Muslims, Jews, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community. But when we allow any prejudice to pass unchallenged, we endorse all prejudice. That smarmy joke about dumb blondes that a colleague tells at lunch demeans all women. That “observation” about smart Asian students or gay flair or rapist immigrants endorses an environment of lazy thinking that carries over into other decision-making that is ultimately detrimental to society. When we hear casual stereotyping and say nothing, we collude in the detriment.



Athletes are expected to accept the insulting stereotypes, shut up, and dribble.

There’s a cognitive bias called “confirmation bias” in which people see only what substantiates an opinion they already have and ignore evidence that contradicts it. Studies have shown that when people ignore proof that goes against their bias, their brain releases a chemical that makes them feel good. Which is why we can always point to anecdotal examples that “prove” our prejudices: the criminal immigrant, the ditzy blonde, the Indian convenience store worker, the Jewish financier, the Muslim terrorist. And if we see any information that counters our claims, we dismiss it as fake news, propaganda, or whatever blue pill that allows us to sink back into the comfy Matrix of our own making.

Getty/Katie Buckleitner

Athletes have made some pretty awful headlines, it’s true. We all know of famous NFL, NBA, and MLB players who have been caught having affairs (or doing far worse). What makes the Khloé Kardashian situation more poignant—and more ripe for tabloid fodder—is that this is not the first time she’s been publicly cheated on, not even the first pro athlete to cheat on her.

Certainly, wealth, power, and fame give athletes, politicians, musicians, actors, and filmmakers more opportunities to be unfaithful to their spouses. But availability is no excuse for availing. Nor is it okay to use the bad behavior of some to characterize all.

I’m not here to defend or condemn Tristan Thompson’s actions. If people feel the need to judge him, let them do so based on his behavior, not his profession or gender. According to the Institute for Family Studies, married women between the ages of 18 and 29 are slightly more likely to cheat than their male counterparts. Should we now characterize young women as hopeless cheaters?

I have spent a lifetime dealing with the prejudices people have against male athletes. My political activism was criticized in the 1970s and still is today because the general public often think sports stars—many of whom have college degrees—are not smart enough to understand the complexities and nuances of politics. Moose, the thick-skulled athlete in the Archie comics, first appeared in 1949, yet his legacy as the dumb jock continues today.

A juicy bit of salacious gossip drowns out these important voices and we all tumble back to square one.

The problem is that every time we see articulate, courageous, and committed athletes—like LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, Etan Thomas, Michael Bennett, Steph Curry, and others—a juicy bit of salacious gossip drowns out these important voices and we all tumble back to square one. It confirms the bias against every athlete, and prevents us from being taken seriously. And then the cycle starts over.

This time, I hope we break it. And if people listened to the words of concern coming out of our mouths instead of staring at the numbers on our jerseys, they would hear athletes who are fathers, husbands, and businessmen committed to not just playing their sport but bettering their community.

Getty/Cosmopolitan

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s latest book is New York Times bestseller . He will also be showing off his dancing skills on the 26th season of Dancing with the Stars, airing April 30th.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io