The joy is fading

Raise the white flag over every stadium, ballpark and arena. Raise it any place games are played, games that are supposed to bring us joy and satisfaction.

It’s over. The good guys lost. The bad guys won.

The battle for simple human decency is a lost cause in the world of sports. Fans now must decide if they can live with that.

When an athlete is arrested after shots are fired near the White House, it is time to surrender.

When a sports figure drives around wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying semiautomatic handguns and assault rifles, it is time to retreat or give up.

And duck so you don’t get hit by stray bullets.

When an athlete with a history of substance abuse drives drunk and tries to outrun police at more than 100 mph, it is time to negotiate terms of surrender.

And stay off the roads near NFL training camps.

Lonny Baxter helped lead the Maryland Terrapins to the national championship in basketball in 2002. He played last season for the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA and just signed a deal to play in Italy. He was arrested by Secret Service agents early yesterday morning after shots were fired from a vehicle about two blocks from the White House.

A spokesman said they found spent shell casings in the vehicle Baxter was driving near the intersection of 17th and I streets NW. Baxter and a passenger were charged with carrying a pistol without a license and other firearms charges.

No reason for the shots was given. But if you still want to fight the good fight, you can believe that Baxter was just firing “one if by land, two if by sea” warning shots because he saw the enemy approaching the White House.

This happened just hours after Minnesota Vikings receiver Koren Robinson was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of drunken driving and fleeing from police, driving at speeds of more than 100 mph and refusing to stop.

And these two incidents happened within a week of the arrest of former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett. Clarett was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of his arrest, and police found four loaded guns in his SUV. He was scheduled to stand trial this week on an armed robbery charge stemming from a separate incident.

I suspect that, like some coaches, managers, administrators and owners, many fans simply will don their rose-colored glasses and hope their stars aren’t kept off the field.

There is only so much emotional investment a fan — even a fanatical one — can make in sports. Any fan with a moral compass must spend nearly all of that investment in outrage over cheering for convicts.

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