Erin Barry: Tony Parker Breaks Unwritten Rule By Sexting With Teammates' Wife

Pool/Getty Images

Back in December of 2009, a scandal that rocked not only the PGA Tour but the sports world came out about arguably the most recognized name anywhere. Tiger Woods.

For months, society dragged him through the mud, calling him every name in the book. Home wrecker, despicable, unfaithful, dirt bag, and every other word you can come up with that talks about a cheating husband. There were also those who said Tiger should never return to golf ever again.

When he made an apology speech, we took an even bigger stance against him. We called him fake, repulsive, even accusing Tiger of not being genuine. Even Stephen A. Smith got involved and went on one of his famous tirades against Tiger.

But oh how the tables have turned.

The day that Tiger starts coming back with some public relations and good will  appearances, San Antonio guard Tony Parker received divorce papers from his wife Eva Longoria.

According to TMZ, Parker cheated with the wife of former teammate Brent Barry. But, before you go thinking they were knocking boots, Parker said it never got that far but did say they had a "sexting relationship."

Here's where the story takes a strange turn.

Sources close to Parker told TMZ that the relationship ended months ago and that he had already planned on filing for divorce in San Antonio. However, Eva wanted to file out of Los Angeles and looks as if she got her wish.

As for Erin and Brent Barry, the couple were apparently already in the middle of their divorce as this news came out, but Brent's father, NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry, told TMZ "I feel horrible for my son. I'm in shock.  I knew [Erin] was moving out of the house soon and SHE was the one that filed for divorce. This is the straw that broke the camel's back."

Now that Tony Parker is the next in a long line of athletes that have been unfaithful, are we going to take to our Twitter and Facebook accounts and bash the NBA star? Are we going to call him the same kind of names we called Tiger Woods, or is the cheating not as bad because he never physically had sexual relations with Erin Barry?

We as a society always have different expectations and different repercussions for this kind of thing. When one precedent is set, another one is created. It's how we work.

What I find interesting about this is what will be said across the blogosphere over the next 24 to 48 hours. Are you taking Tiger Woods off the hook or have you forgotten about him altogether with this news?

If it wasn't for TMZ, what would some of us do in our lives? Without the latest celeb gossip, how would some of us survive?

When are we going to stop putting celebrities and athletes on pedestals where they don't belong? It's our fault entirely for their downfall.

There shouldn't be a higher expectation for  someone that plays a game on a court. We shouldn't expect more from athletes when they could care less what we expect, and rightly so.

Society needs to look in the mirror before we start convicting guys like Tiger Woods and Tony Parker in the court of public opinion. If we did that, maybe we wouldn't be so outraged every time this kind of thing happens.

Or maybe I'm just expecting too much.