Source: www.insidethegames.biz
By Andrew Warshaw at SportAccord in London
Sir Clive Woodward, the British Olympic Association's (BOA) director of sport, says too many athletes, like Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney (pictured), think they have become celebrities before they have achieved sufficient levels of performance.
Speaking at the SportAccord conference hgere, Sir Clive said there was a growing risk of too many sportsmen and women "fast-tracking" their way to success and making a premature name for themselves by penning newspaper columns.
"When you look back at the iconic figures in sport, it was always about performance," said the coach of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side.
"My big take on this is that I don't think you can become a celebrity unless you absolutely deliver on the field of play, the track or in the pool.
"When I was a coach, I was massive on this, newspaper columns have to be a distraction.
"[It's] when you see someone with huge talent but trying to fast-track themselves into a high-profile celebrity position without delivering on the pitch.
"It's easy to spot and can come crashing down very quickly."
Sir Clive, who was speaking at a session on sport's relationship with the media, added: "I have seen so many talented athletes who have not made it and an equal number who are less talented who have kept away from the celebrity culture and just focused on hard work and performance.
"Dealing with the media should be positive thing but not to court it, that has to be a distraction.
"I can't envisage any gold medal winner or prospective gold medal winner getting involved in that, in the middle of a Games."
Specifically asked to say whether he would include Wayne Rooney in his description of "iconic" following the England and Manchester United striker's recent television outburst, Sir Clive said: "In my view at the moment - no."
"Iconic figures are people who really delivered at international level.
"I remember McEnroe was angry on the tennis court but successful.
"Football at the top level is the World Cup - people like Pele and Maradona are the iconic figures of football.
"These people may have had chequered backgrounds but you remembered them."
America's former Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion Ed Moses said the landscape of celebrity status changed at the Los Angeles - where he won his second gold medal - when the old amateur rules gave way to a new era of sponsorship.
One downside of this, said Moses, was that in some cases an athlete's behaviour becomes the point of interest - with Rooney's television obscenity in front of a global audience of millions being a case in point.
"Rooney's behaviour has been very uncool – to say the least, especially among the young kids who are being induced to buy [merchandise]," said Moses.