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We viewers often view the millions earned by top level sportsmen and women with disdain and perhaps a touch of jealousy, aware, perhaps, how their earnings dwarf that of ours.

Every time a high level sportsperson gets in the news for the wrong reasons, we say, "There they go, their millions are spoiling them. They have no sense of responsibility. they do whatever want and expect to get away with it."

When these people say such things, do they think of the pressures that a high level sportsperson goes through, the expectations that they have to live up to, the constant media attention, the hype and the fervor, the weight of pressure, the knowledge that they have to be at their best day in, day out?

Contrary to what most people think, 99 percent of sportspeople at the top of their game are not spoilers. They live life the way it should be lived, and they put their families and personal life ahead of any possible riches they could earn.

It is just that the media is brilliant at bringing out the negative one percent and exaggerating the story tenfold. Forgive me for being negative about the media, but I am only being honest in my opinion.

This might seem controversial to many, but the recent spate of deaths in the lives of top level sportspeople in my view has as much to do with not being able to deal with the constant stare of the world as it is with the reported reasons for their deaths; heart attack, suicide, etc.

Take Robert Enke. He had everything going for him. He had a new contract at Hanover, he was Germany’s No. 1, and was almost certainly going into the World Cup as Germany’s top keeper.

He was earning a lot, and was living a glitzy life, and yet, he took his own life yesterday. Now, I know he had the tragedy of his daughter dying of heart ailment a couple of years back, and that he was not in a stable condition during his last few days, but would you make me believe that his instability was the only reason he decided to bid adieu from us.

In no way can you make me believe that. I am sorry, but that theory holds no water for me at all. It might be one of the reasons, but coupled with that is the much bigger reason, that some sportspersons simply cannot deal with the media glare and the attention that comes with it. They melt under the glare, they fall under the eyes of the world.

It may not seem so obvious, but footballers having heart attacks, poker players committing suicide and the like are all related to stress and depression, which in turn might lead to heart attack and other physical problems.

The point I am trying to make, in the light of Robert Enke’s alleged suicide, is to highlight the immense pressure that many sportsmen live in.

Below their demeanor of confidence and brashness lies a softness which often cannot deal with 200 cameras flashing at you 24 hours a day. It is enough to drive any sane person insane, let alone people who have to be at the top of their game day in day out just to please us critics, who are ever so willing to put a finger on their every mistake.

The pressure ultimately forces many to be under stress all the time, leading to self-doubt, and in extreme cases, heart attacks and the like.

I am only using examples from soccer here, but it applies to all sports. So many top sportsmen, for example, have taken their own lives while at the top of their game.

Why?

Was it because they were not happy with the 20 million quid a year they were making? They certainly weren’t having problems in paying the rent, so to speak. They simply couldn’t handle the pressure. They simply couldn’t…

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