Utah Jazz: Truth, consequences

Lies can hurt more than truth

By Martin Renzhofer
The Salt Lake Tribune
December 15, 2005

Panic. A sense of entitlement. The loss of reputation and employment. Sloppy thinking.

According to psychologists and sociologists, some or all of these explanations are reasons why Utah Jazz rookies Robert Whaley and Deron Williams allegedly lied to police officers and the Jazz after an early morning altercation with six to eight men from Boulder, Colo., in a Park City bar this past weekend.

Both Jazz players were charged Wednesday with providing false information to a police officer, a Class C misdemeanor. In addition, Jazz officials said Wednesday that Whaley had lied to them about how he got the cut on his hand that required six stitches to close.

But why lie, when the consequences are potentially more damaging than admitting the truth? A lie oftentimes escalates the punishment.

"At a less profound level, there is more of a panic of being caught," said Park City psychologist Donn Peters. "There's also a narcissism - 'I can get away with this. I can say this.' "

When Whaley showed up for practice on Sunday, he told Jazz officials that he had cut his right hand while taking a knife from his 2-year-old son. Whaley said prior to Wednesday night's game against Portland that he cut his hand on a glass while at an establishment in Park City, but the injury was "unrelated to any altercation."

The sense of entitlement, Peters said, is fostered at an early age, when superior athletes are not held to the same standards as the rest of society.

"John Madden once said winning is the best deodorant," said Jim Thompson, executive director of the Positive Coaching Alliance at Stanford University. "Kids who have talent are allowed to skate. If they lie and get caught, because of that talent, an exception is made for them.

"It's not good for them, but the real travesty are the adults who take advantage of these kids and don't teach them life's lessons that sport has to offer."

Big money, Thompson added, only makes the temptations stronger.

"Very often, ethics violations come about not because someone is evil," Thompson said, "but because of sloppy thinking. They haven't thought things through, but took a short cut. Then they have to keep taking those short cuts."

However, there is also another reason why people, from childhood to adult, continue to lie about their mistakes: The loss of love.

"In order for us to tell the truth, especially if the experience is socially or morally wrong, we have to admit to ourselves that it happened," said Maria Grace, a New York City based psychologist and author. "Because we don't want to accept that there is going to be consequences and consequences of loss - in this case the loss of reputation, dignity, work and love. We're going to lose the right to be loved.

"It starts at an early age, when you do something wrong and hide it from parents. Children are afraid of abandonment. The loss of love. It is a built-in defense mechanism. Eventually, the truth gets found out and we are exposed. Then we fulfill the prophecy that we were afraid was going to happen."

Good parenting creates the security to accept responsibility, Grace said, adding sports and politics are two arenas where the stars and celebrities crave love.

"That's why they go into those two arenas at full speed," she said.

Mike Paul, founder of MGP & Associates, a New York City based firm that works to repair reputations in sports, business and politics, said the truth always bubbles to the top.

"Fear is a big reason [for lying]," he said. "Poor self-esteem is also a major factor. If they would have called the coach or the owner, call them that night before they hear it from someone else, [the coach or owner will] be upset and angry, but they will respect you. You're an investment and you've put that investment at risk."

Americans love to forgive if the person at fault exhibits true remorse. Paul offered Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant as an example. Instead of being forthright about his alleged sexual assault, he tried to influence the authorities with his celebrity.

"Two years can go by, but ask the average person about Kobe Bryant, 48 percent still have negative feelings," he said. "Two years later. That's a crisis."

Yet, there are celebrities and athletes who face the music and are forgiven. For example, the New Jersey Nets' Jason Kidd, who was accused of spouse abuse.

"The beauty of this culture, it gives you a second chance, but that doesn't mean you get away with murder," Grace said. "It means you take responsibility and move on. That's the beauty of America."

* * *

Whaley's checkered past:

* Jazz rookie has a troubled history of problems with the law.

What happened:

* Jazz rookies Deron Williams and Robert Whaley got into a confrontation with a group of Nuggets fans at a Park City night club early Sunday. It involved shouting, posturing and a couple of garbage cans thrown in anger.

* When police arrived to break it up, the two players gave made-up names to the officers. The two were issued citations for providing false personal information to a peace officer, a Class C misdemeanor, Wednesday.

* Also Wednesday, Whaley admitted that he had made up a story about how he suffered a cut on his hand that required six stitches. He initially said it was hurt in a kitchen accident, when in fact he cut it on a glass at the night club.