What are we to do when an elite sport player, musician or artist – outstanding in their particular field – turns out to be an obnoxious a*sehole in life?

A few years back, I wrote about the legendary chess player the late Bobby Fischer (1943 – 2008). A child prodigy at chess, he defeated his Soviet counterpart in the 1950s, thus earning his place in the pantheon of chess greats. However, as a person, he turned out to be a bigot, contemptuously sneering at anyone who disagreed with him.

Should we continue to admire a person who, while outstanding as a sportsperson or musician, is an obnoxious lout in life?

Let’s begin with baseball. I tried baseball in high school, and was never any good at it. I probably hit only 20 percent of the pitches I faced. Hitting a home run was a rarity. To top it off, I got more interested in squash, and so my incipient baseball career came to an end before it even started.

Baseball is not that big in Australia, in comparison to the Major Leagues in the United States. I never fully understood all the statistics of baseball playing – and I still do not. However, I can appreciate the ability of fans to accumulated vast and complex baseball data sets in their minds. I also think that elite baseball players are worthy of admiration.

Ty Cobb (1886 – 1961) was an exceptional baseball player, the absolute greatest of his generation. His baseball achievements hit record levels, and remained so for decades.

His approach to the game was one of tactical aggression, unafraid to confront his opponents absolutely head-on. Undeterred by threats from fans, he pursued baseball with an unmatched intensity, stealing bases, a steely-eyed gaze, anticipating his opponents’ moves and countering them. He was able to think quickly and decisively under pressure. Fearless and strong, he would deliberately crash into the opposing fielders at the bases, sparking numerous confrontations that became a hallmark of his career.

He was also an antisemite and obnoxious person, described by his friends and colleagues as a ‘son of a b*tch.’ Known for a hair-trigger temper, he was abusive and obnoxious to waiters, porters, hotel staff, his intimate partners and certainly towards other baseball players. Loudly and frequently disparaging his slightly younger contemporary, George ‘Babe’ Ruth, Cobb reserved a special hatred for Ruth’s superb hitting and sporting abilities.

Nicknamed the Bambino, Babe Ruth was a portly, stocky man, who grew up in relative poverty. Attending a reformatory school, nothing in his academic records suggested that he would amount to anything out of the ordinary. Preferring drinking and carousing to baseball training, there was no indication yet of his sporting abilities.

Yet, in his first season as a professional base baller, in 1920, Ruth scored an amazing 54 home runs for the New York Yankees. Ruth displayed a remarkable intelligence and resilience on the baseball field. Making decisions under intense pressure, he worked out the tactics of his opponents and decided how to outsmart them.

Elite sportspeople can be both physically adept, and intelligent in their field. Ruth confounded the stereotype of ‘great at sport, dumbo at academics.’ We have all confronted the ‘sports jock’ archetype – excelling in football, for instance, but barely passing their school subjects. In fact, to be an elite competitor, you need not just physical strength, but mental agility and flexibility.

Let’s change tack here….why am I talking about this particular subject now? The topic above – appreciating sport or music produced by scoundrels – has resurfaced in recent days.

American rapper and musician Kanye West (or Ye as he prefers to be know) is no stranger to controversy. A talented rapper with a global following, his gradual descent into mental health problems is no secret. His political deterioration into a MAGA-aligned far rightist has been the subject of analysis in the past. I have written about his antisemitic and ignorant recycling of conspiratorial misinformation previously.

Earlier this month, West released a single called ‘Heil Hitler’ from his forthcoming album. Praising the Nazi leader and architect of the Holocaust, West’s song is a mishmash of antisemitic outbursts and juvenile profanities. Identifying himself as a fellow traveler of Nazi ideology, West has been dropped by major music companies. His song, while also dropped from streaming platforms, nevertheless remains in circulation through AI-generated versions.

The song’s cover illustration resembles a swastika. The song ends with excerpts from a speech by Hitler. West is increasingly resembling an emotionally and mentally unhinged person. His narcissistic selfishness was previously excused on the grounds that he is a brilliant musician. His legions of fans either ignored or rationalised his outbursts.

However, West has now chosen to occupy a position in the foul cesspit of the MAGA cult’s ultra-libertarian and fanatical ‘America First’ nationalism. Trump, Musk, Vance, and the swamp of fascistic social media influencers have taken their toll on West, and now they are hailing their new musical recruit to their ideology.

It is not everyday that a black man, and an influential one at that, sings the same tune as MAGA – the modern day updated version of the Klan. It is only a small step from white hoods to red MAGA hats.

West needs help with his mental health issues, plus an extensive education in the history of racism, the American civil war, the Holocaust, and settler colonialism.

We would do well to remember, and learn from, the example of Jackie Robinson (1919 – 1972). An African American baseball champion who broke through the colour line, he maintained his integrity while never backing down against bigotry. Today’s American MAGA administration would have kept Robinson out of the Major Leagues, given the chance.