Edition: U.S. / Global

Sports of The Times; Looking Beyond the Neon in Deion

Published: October 25, 1992

ISN'T it odd how seemingly timeless attributes of athletic heroism can suddenly become bitter points of dispute when the would-be hero wears gold chains?

Take, for example, the ideal of the multisport athlete.

There was a time when one of the loftiest accomplishments an athlete could attain was earning a starting position and actually winning honors in two sports.

Because most of us struggled simply to become proficient enough in one sport to make one team, we admired those -- in high school and especially college -- who had the skill and confidence to make two and three teams.

Now it seems that two-sport mastery, once the epitome of athletic prowess, has somehow become the signature of greed and self-promotion, of stretching oneself too thin.

The criticism began a couple of seasons ago with Bo Jackson and has reached full bloom with Deion Sanders, the flamboyant Pro Bowl cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons and a budding outfielder for the Atlanta Braves.

Sanders is now leading the sort of double life that most fans dream about. As a No. 2 hitter for the Braves, Sanders is in the thick of a historic World Series -- the first to be partly played outside the United States. As a cornerback and kick returner, Sanders is a key weapon for the Atlanta Falcons. In his first game of the current N.F.L. season, he returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

Yet there has been a steadily increasing flow of criticism from those who suggest, in no uncertain terms, that he confine himself to one sport.

Curiously, many of the same writers who advocate that Sanders adhere to sports monogamy are dabbling quite heavily themselves in other communications mediums. There is a proliferation of columnists and reporters, for example, doing television, radio and whatever else they can get their hands on. Indeed, why don't they stick to one discipline?

A couple of Sanders's Atlanta-based critics point to the glitter and gold that are part of his Prime Time package as proof that he is not a proper "role model" -- whatever that is -- for kids.

Truth is, there are increasing numbers of young people who don't need role models. The lives that many of them lead, the situations many of them confront each day, are not dress rehearsals for some midafternoon soap opera. They are real lives too often punctured by real bullets and real challenges. What they need to know is this: How do we survive at a time when odds against our survival are increasing?

Many of the young people for whom Sanders would be a "role model" might benefit from hearing him describe the source of his dogged pursuit of excellence and his self-styled formula for success: Persistence, discipline, sacrifice and the refusal to accept no for an answer.

Too often sports role models preach conformity and order when the reality is that one must sometimes be different and a bit outrageous to achieve certain goals.

Earlier this month, Sanders became the first athlete to play in two different professional sports on the same day. He started at cornerback, ran back kickoffs and caught a pass for nine yards for the Falcons. That night, he was in uniform for the Braves in their playoff game against the Pirates.

Was it a public relations stunt? Partly.

But all the public relations in the world could not compel Bobby Cox to put Sanders in the Braves' starting lineup for a World Series game or Jerry Glanville to put Sanders in the Falcons' starting lineup, unless he deserved to be there.

The recent incident in which Sanders doused broadcaster Tim McCarver with water has detracted from the substance of his accomplishments. Certainly, it was an indefensible act of immaturity and intemperance. In time, Sanders will look back on the dousing -- maybe the chains and glitter, too -- as the actions of a self-consumed prima donna. McCarver, perhaps, will also come to realize that Sanders is the pick-me-up for a sport that sorely needs an infusion of new blood and fresh ideas.

In fact, Bo Jackson and to a more dramatic extent, Sanders, could have a major impact on young athletes who in the past have been forced to choose between two sports they love. Charlie Ward, for example, is the starting Florida State quarterback this fall and will be the starting point guard on the basketball team this winter.

Sanders has shown that a calendar is no impediment to fulfilling a dream, provided an athlete has the drive, discipline and confidence to pursue it.

Sanders is clearly too much for one professional sport, although probably not enough for two. He will eventually have to make a choice.

Until then, for those who can look beyond his gold and chains, the Atlanta-Man provides a valuable lesson: Unlimited horizons await those who possess the skill and vision to reach for them.

Photo: Deion Sanders, stealing a base in Game 3, has come under criticism for playing two sports at the same time. (Agence France-Presse)