As a new decade dawns, it seems like each day brings a new story of a high-profile athlete being accused of some sort of unethical behavior. We all remember November 2009, when Tiger Woods had a vicious fight with his wife, Elin Nordegren, after her discovery of messages to and from mistresses on his phone. Eventually, Woods released a statement saying he would take an indefinite leave from golf to repair his family life.

After Woods’ transgressions were made public, we were soon assailed with a more frightening tale of guns being drawn in an NBA locker room. Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton got into an argument over a gambling debt, which escalated until Arenas pulled out an unloaded gun and teased Crittenton, who defensively pulled out his own. Soon after, Arenas mimed gunplay with his fingers in a pregame huddle. The NBA’s retribution was swift, and Arenas and Crittenton were both suspended for the rest of the season.

A few years earlier, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was arrested and sentenced to two years of prison on dog fighting charges. He instantly became a pariah among animal lovers everywhere. Only this past season, he returned to the NFL as a minor contributor to the Philadelphia Eagles.

With three of the sports world’s most recent athlete scandals still unresolved as we enter 2010, perhaps the scandals of the 2000s can give us some insight into where the newest ones are headed.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers was accused in 2003 of raping a 19-year-old hotel employee in Colorado. He admitted adultery, but not rape, eventually settled out of court with his accuser, and was able to repair his relationship with his wife. He continued to play spectacularly, however. He scored 81 points in a 2006 game, won his first MVP award and helped the USA to a gold medal at the Olympics in 2008, and won the Finals MVP award in 2009 as the Lakers won the championship.

Baseball’s steroid scandal of the 2000s implicated some of the game’s biggest stars, including Barry Bonds of the Giants. As he was chasing Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record of 755 in 2007, he was chastised on all sides for his alleged use of steroids and HGH, but Bonds was able to overcome the scrutiny and break the record. However, the Giants have struggled as a team since Bonds’ first steroid allegations in 2003, failing to make the playoffs each year.

In November 2004, a frightening brawl broke out between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons after a Pistons fan threw a cup of soda onto the Pacers’ Ron Artest after he was in a scuffle with a Piston. He immediately charged at the fan, and a brawl between players and fans erupted. Nine players were suspended without pay, and five players were even charged with assault. Artest himself was suspended for the rest of the season and was traded early the next year. He has played well individually since, but until this year with the Lakers, he hasn’t had much team success.

When we think of these pariahs of the past decade, what comes to mind first is their wrongdoings. Only then do we consider their successes as players, although Bryant has changed that with his recent achievements. That seems to be the secret: if you are supremely talented enough, and can win over media and fans with your play for a solid amount of time after a transgression, your image as a star can be repaired. Bryant is again worshipped for his talent and skill after five years of outstanding play following the adultery. Artest, however, is still viewed as an eccentric agitator, seeming to pick fights during games, drinking Hennessy at halftime and once attending a practice in a bathrobe. Since Bonds stopped playing after 2007, his record-breaking (but tainted) home run is the last impression we have of him, and as such, his image as a cheater is forever ingrained in the public eye.

So even if Woods, Vick, and Arenas fix the problems that led them to trouble in the first place, and are better men for it, they will not yet be forgiven. People tend to remember negative events over positive ones, for the same reason that bad news seemingly travels faster than good. Only with time and consistent excellence will the public’s perception of them change to anything other than an adulterer, a dog killer, and a dangerous thug. This may be unfair to Tiger, Vick, and Arenas, but hey – life isn’t fair, right?