Today’s guest column is from professors John Cairney and Rick Burton.
Every sport has its own version of star treatment.
NBA fans have long suspected the biggest names, from MJ to SGA, get foul calls that role players do not. NFL supporters argue franchise quarterbacks are more carefully protected than their less prominent counterparts. Soccer fans think the world’s most powerful clubs receive the benefit of doubt during decisive moments.
Baseball had even created the perception that certain accomplished pitchers (i.e., Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine) had “earned” the edges of the strike zone.
The phrase sounds harmless … suggesting excellence creates credibility, one of the beneficial privileges found with sustained success.
