I would venture to guess that if I was a construction worker... who requested a transfer to another department for the betterment of his family, I would be commended for it. But because it's sports, there's just so much passion added to it.
With any group of people in life, sad things happen, and crazy things, and happy things. When you're in the public eye, it's just amplified, that's all.
There's a rule in Hollywood: stay away from water and stay away from snow, and I had both.