Friday column: Sometimes, it’s good to be surprised

The sports landscape often showcases individuals who accept praise more quickly than blame, are more interested in themselves than in others, are more interested in taking than in giving.
Often — but not always.
Oct. 27, a Notre Dame student videographer died when a high wind toppled the hydraulic lift from which he was recording football practice.
Eight days later, the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, sent an e-mail to students, faculty, staff and alumni stating what most everyone understood but what few expected to hear from an institution with lawyers on the payroll.
“Declan Sullivan was entrusted to our care, and we failed to keep him safe. We at Notre Dame and ultimately I as president are responsible. Words cannot express our sorrow to the Sullivan family and to all involved.”
Jenkins didn’t blame Sullivan for somehow improperly using the lift. He didn’t blame the maker of the device. He didn’t even blame God. He did what one would hope a university president would do — stood up and told the truth.

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Truth is, athletes have been known to spend their retirement living in the past rather than moving on and doing something significant with their lives.
Not Roberto Baggio.
Baggio, one of the finest soccer players ever, works to raise awareness of world hunger and serves as a goodwill ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
That’s just for starters.
As a recent New York Times article pointed out, Baggio “helps to fund hospitals. He committed to raise money in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. He involved himself in the fight against bird flu. He joined the pro-democracy movement for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar.”
Baggio won plenty of honors as a player, but last Sunday was given something more meaningful than a sporting trophy. In Hiroshima, Baggio received the Peace Summit Award given yearly by the world’s Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

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I can’t imagine a World Peace Award being given to Ron Artest, but the thing about the aggressive Laker swingman is that with him, you never really know what to expect.
For years, we did know. We expected bad behavior.
Artest’s image began to change when, following the Lakers’ victory over Boston, he became the first athlete to begin his post-championship comments by thanking his psychologist. And no, it wasn’t a joke.
Then he appeared at an L.A.-area intermediate school to talk to kids about the importance of seeking help for emotional problems. Now, he’s taking what some athletes regard as their prized possession — a championship ring — and auctioning it off to raise money for, yes, mental health charities.
The idea came to him suddenly. Said Artest: “It was … simple. It was perfect. It’s something that can help others.”
Artest has gone from pariah to role model, of a sort. And I can’t believe I just wrote that.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.