Conscience does make cowards of us all

To be, or not to be; that is the question.\nShakespeare never had to deal with a question this tough.\nBut now Florida big man Joakim Noah, like thousands of athletes before him, plays the role of Hamlet -- or perhaps the hook of a Clash song. \nShould he stay, or should he go? \nAfter scoring 16 points and posting six blocks in the NCAA championship game against UCLA Monday night, Noah has been hounded for an answer regarding his future. Currently the most touted NBA prospect (what a short attention span we have -- when Morrison referred to Jim, and Redick described a man who sat naked in the sun for two minutes too long) Noah now has a decision to make. \nWhether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles. \nAll athletes go pro for different reasons. For some, it is a matter of financial reimbursement -- unable to refuse money they might never make in a 9-to-5 job. For others, it is a matter of timing -- their stock in the ever-changing money market of sports has peaked and their value is, well, invaluable. \nWhen Texas junior quarterback Vince Young lifted the Crystal Ball after he single-handedly led the Longhorns to a National Championship, no one even bothered to ask whether he would remain in Austin an extra year to receive his diploma. Try paying off that mansion in Austin with a diploma -- it just won't happen.\nBut Young will not be chosen in the first few spots when the NFL Draft commences at the end of April. After getting licked by the Wonderlic, a 50-question IQ test given to every prospect at the NFL combine, Young's stock -- the same one that was so high it could have broken through Heaven's cellar door -- has plummeted, and his draft experience since has been hellish. \nFor in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause: there's the respect that makes calamity of so long life.\nRight above Young sits USC quarterback and projected No. 2 pick Matt Leinart. After winning his own national championship the year before, he did what Young couldn't. Rather than take the money and run, Leinart stayed in school and won.\nThe oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, the pangs of despised love, the law's delay, the insolence of office and the spurns -- That patient merit of the unworthy takes.\nTo stay or to go, to be or not to be -- athletes such as Noah will be making these decisions as long as the next level exists. Though he and others like him might not be the king of Denmark and their questions don't deal with death, it is nonetheless their own form of death -- a death of their dreams. For those who fall from atop the world's pedestal are surely fortune's fools. \nAthletes come in many forms to the fan. They are admired and they are admonished. Their allegiance is betrothed and booed. They are kings and they are criminals. But above all, athletes like Noah, Young and Leinart are kids with a conscience. They are exposed in the spotlight and scrutinized in sports circles for the decisions they make, in and out of the locker room. They try to do what is right for their family, their fortunes and their future. Their decision is a dilemma with the conscience.\nIf athletes fail -- we laugh. If they succeed -- we legitimize.\nThus conscience does make cowards of us all.