Crass politicians that wrap themselves in the flag also gravitate to sports heroes for publicity, as if they cared about actual sports.

Similarly, the media state by state or nationally fawns over sports heroes for boosting media revenues, since that is where much media bread is buttered up. When home teams win and the ad revenue rolls in big time, it's like any league sports on any level get a pass for just about anything.

Again, ad revenues trump any ethics, that's why mobile platforms are such a huge cesspool of content about sales. But that's a book for another time.