Opinion | Not 'statues' or toys: How should we treat athletes?

By Darius

Located in Sichuan, the Leshan Giant Buddha is now seen as the precious cultural heritage of ancient times and a symbol of Buddhism in China. However, the humongous stone statue has witnessed its own ups and downs over a thousand years; there were soldiers who shot its eyes for exercising, there were people who damaged its appearance for religious reasons, and there were Mongolian invaders who burned its wood shelter to the ground. It shall understand if it had a brain: since it can't talk, its essence is determined by the times, not itself. In some times it was a treasure; in others it was worthless.

However, I should have known that some famous athletes can sometimes become statues too.

Liu Xiang, an athlete in the 110m hurdles, became a superstar after winning the Olympic championship in 2004. At that time, he was called the "Chinese Flying Man" for his achievement. However, after two tragic endings in 2008 and 2012's Olympics, many people started to blame him for "deceiving" and "not doing good." He, together with gymnast Li Ning and volleyball athlete Lang Ping, two former honor-gainers of China who were later criticized for their performance or behavior, climbed up to the top of the list of "unwelcomed persons."

However, recent evidence indicates that Liu was forced by a relevant official, who is now being investigated, to participate in the competition despite being injured. This outcome is both ironic and reasonable: very few athletes are willing to take such high risks for a championship that is unlikely to be achieved. Li Ning also chose to fight with injuries, which eventually led to his retirement. As for Lang Ping, she chose to become the coach of the US women's national volleyball team in the 2008 Olympic Games, which was seen as a "betrayal" by some people at that time.

Recently, Chinese diver Quan Hongchan was chased by fervent fans in a hotel in Macao and eventually hid herself in a restroom. Her wonderful performance in two Olympic Games has not only drawn huge attention but also caused her lots of trouble.

Those fans forgot a very crucial thing: Quan, apart from her astonishing achievements, is still a 17-year-old girl.

To me, those athletes were seen as "statues", surrounded, loved, and touched by believers and followers; in followers' eyes, they were perfect, omnipotent, with no flaws and shortcomings. But, if the statues lose their magic, then those believers will become haters; they hate those athletes for not being good statues, and not fulfilling their desires. They do like those athletes, but in a peculiar way: they treat them like pets, toys, or symbols. They ignored the fact that those famous athletes, no matter how successful they were, were actual humans with flesh and blood.

Compared to living people, statues do not make any mistakes because they lack a soul and cannot even define themselves. However, many people place these athletes on a pedestal, and once those athletes make a mistake, they are immediately cast into an abyss of no return. The higher they are held up, the harder they fall.

For this, I do hope that Quan can enjoy her life as an athlete. Raised in a relatively poor family, it took Quan endless effort to walk on the international stage. However, in this age of information, she might face even more pressure than her predecessors, at a younger age of 17, with her personal life and behaviors being more exposed by the media.

Fortunately, after the lessons learned from Liu Xiang and others, people in China have begun to reflect on this issue and gradually adopt a more rational view of athletes. A KOL once said, "Only when dusk arrives can we witness who the true supporters are."

Indeed, when people can refrain from harshly criticizing athletes due to fluctuations in their performance and consider the athletes' feelings before taking action, those athletes can free themselves from the symbolism of being idols and statues.

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