Famous traitors

Throughout history, there have been a lot of people who became traitors for one reason or another. Let's consider a few and what became of them.

Brutus, of ancient Rome, was Julius Caesar's nephew. He was part of the gang that killed Caesar, who's last words were supposedly Et tu, Brute? (You too, Brutus?). Brutus later committed suicide.

Benedict Arnold is infamous. He was an American revolutionary war general that switched sides and went over to the British. Somehow he escaped execution to die in poverty in Canada in 1801.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were American communists that began spying for the Soviet Union in the middle of World War II, and carried on until they were caught in 1950. They were both tried, convicted, and executed in 1953.

Robert Hanssen, a former FBI agent no less, got caught selling secrets to the KGB back in the 80s, and was sentenced to life in prison.

Aldrich Ames was similar. Selling out his country to the same people for a lot of money. He got life, as well.

Perhaps the biggest traitor of them all was Judas Iscariot. He betrayed Jesus to the Romans. We know what eventually happened to Jesus. Oddly, or maybe not, Judas was the first Apostle to die.

It might be fair to say all of the above had prominent positions in life -- but it just wasn't enough. For whatever reasons, they sold out and betrayed those they should have been the most loyal to. The punishments varied, but they all became infamous.

What does this have to do with sports?

There's this guy that is employed by the Ford family. The same Ford family that owns the automobile company. The Ford family has made him very rich. He even plays at Ford Field in Detroit. Ford Motor Company offers umpteen different makes and models of cars and trucks, ranging from luxurious to economical. (General Motors provided me a very good living so I buy and drive GM cars to show my appreciation, but yours truly would be the first to admit Ford has always offered some mighty fine products as well.) One would think this man would at least endorse Ford products to show HIS appreciation. One would be wrong.

He sold out too, but not to the Soviets, Romans, or the British. While professing loyalty to his team, fans, and more importantly the people who sign his monstrous checks, it appears he has betrayed them.

The man's name is Calvin Johnson, a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions. He's doing TV commercials advertising Acura, a car made by Honda, a Japanese company that would likely dearly love to see the American automobile companies crash and burn. No doubt, the Honda people are paying him well to do this. What will his punishment be? Try $22 million dollars next year from the same Ford family and the adoration of Detroit Lions fans.

Living in infamy? Hardly. He might eventually go to the Hall of Fame. Somewhere in Japan, auto executives are sitting back and chuckling about how gullible most Americans are. And guess what? They're right.

I see it more like Julius once did.

Et tu, Calvin?