# Why do so many athletes speak in the third-person? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280 "2003-03-05T17:22:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/1 "2003-03-05T17:22:47Z")
Is there any rational reason for them to do so? Something us non-athletes don’t understand? ---
**Author:** ![metroshane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@metroshane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metroshane)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/2 "2003-03-05T17:25:53Z")
I love Jimmy Kimmel’s “I’m The Carl Malone”. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/3 "2003-03-05T18:57:55Z")
I assume it’s an ego thing. I’ve only noticed this in ultra superstars, none of whom I can think of now, except for LeBron James, who, while not of that status yet, is on the way to life as a substandard human being because of the absolute GODLINESS his handlers and the media bestow upon him. hrh ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/4 "2003-03-05T19:44:03Z")
Uhhh… how many athletes really do this? For that matter, **hrhomer,** how many ultra superstars do it? I can’t think of any. I can’t remember the last time I heard an athletes do this. Michael Jordan doesn’t do it that I’ve ever heard. Barry Bonds doesn’t, except one time he did use “Barry” to emphasize something. Wayne Gretzky doesn’t. Joe Montana didn’t. Cal Ripken didn’t. Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t. I can think of a few athletes who did; Bo Jackson, as I recall, always referred to himself in the third person. Jackson, however, had terrible speech problems as a kid; he stuttered to the point of being almost incapable of conversation. Many pro athletes have speaking problems that become exagerrated when trying to talk to the media, and I know that one way of trying to speak clearly is to refer to yourself in the third person. It may also just be an urban hip-hop thing. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/5 "2003-03-05T19:51:15Z")
I didn’t mean to imply that all or even most ultra superstars do this, just that athletes of that stature are the only ones I’ve heard doing it. And no, I can’t recall any off the top of my head either, but I **know** I’ve heard third person used by athletes on occasion, always black athletes, and usually football or basketball. Actually, I think **Rickey Henderson** used the third-person “Rickey” when talking about himself. I know there are more. You may be right about the urban hip-hop thing… hrh ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/6 "2003-03-05T20:11:01Z")
**NurseCarmen** thinks it’s all about ego, that’s what **NurseCarmen** thinks. Denny Green and Herschell Walker also did this. This could be taken the wrong way very easily, but I don’t recall ever seeing a white athlete speak in this manner. Just my observation. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/7 "2003-03-05T20:12:16Z")
Well, this thread was inspired by the Roy Jones, Jr. interview after the fight on Saturday night. I don’t think it’s an urban hip-hop thing. You don’t hear kids on the street referring to themselves in the third person. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/8 "2003-03-05T20:12:29Z")
I always figured that they just didn’t have the mental capacity to juggle _three_ persons in grammar, so dropped one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/9 "2003-03-06T04:34:29Z")
hrhomer writes: \> I didn’t mean to imply that all or even most ultra superstars do \> this, just that athletes of that stature are the only ones I’ve \> heard doing it. And no, I can’t recall any off the top of my head \> either, but I know I’ve heard third person used by athletes on \> occasion, always black athletes, and usually football or \> basketball. So Bob Dole is a superstar black athlete? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/10 "2003-03-06T05:34:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wendell Wagner \* > \*\*hrhomer writes: > > \> I didn’t mean to imply that all or even most ultra superstars do > \> this, just that athletes of that stature are the only ones I’ve > \> heard doing it. And no, I can’t recall any off the top of my head > \> either, but I know I’ve heard third person used by athletes on > \> occasion, always black athletes, and usually football or > \> basketball. > > So Bob Dole is a superstar black athlete? \*\* I’ve never actually heard Bob Dole talk like that. I’ve heard the SNL parody of Bob Dole, but not Bob himself. And yes, Bob Dole \*\* _is_ \*\* a superstar black athlete. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/11 "2003-03-06T05:37:40Z")
**Narrad** heard Cathy Freeman refer to herself in the third person a couple weeks ago. Even more aggravating is athletes who talk about their sporting experiences in the SECOND person. Eg, “It’s tough, but when _you’re_ out there in the pool and _your_ arms are burning, _you_ just hold on because _you’re_ competing for _your_ country.” Gah! ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-athletes-speak-in-the-third-person/159280/12 "2003-03-06T06:21:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hrhomer \* > **I’ve never actually heard Bob Dole talk like that. I’ve heard the SNL parody of Bob Dole, but not Bob himself.** Haven’t you ever seen the SNL where Bob Dole makes an appearance? The whole time he’s telling Norm MacDonald’s Bob Dole that “Bob Dole doesn’t always refer to Bob Dole in the third person. Why do people think Bob Dole does that?” Don’t know if that counts though… In any case, in that episode, the sketch w/Bob Dole as a contestant on “The Real World” is hillarious