‘The Traitors’ showed the best of a gay athlete — and the worst of a straight one

I wasn’t sure about “The Traitors” when I sat down with a couple gay guys to watch the Peacock show that seems to be all the rage with the gays.

Gossip, back-stabbing, lies. The hallmarks of what have driven me away from the “Real Housewives” series seemed to be the order of the day with “The Traitors” and the series Alan Cumming had elevated to all-star status.

And “The Traitors” is a great show.

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Alan Cumming has won the last two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program, and the accolades have been well-deserved. Cumming has A-list acting talent that shines through as he circles the round table building tension, delivers traitor instructions in a hood with gravity and a smile and drops complicated mission rules with aplumb.

It was intially entertaining to watch the three traitors — Lisa Rinna, Candiace Dillard Bassett and Rob Rausch — one-by-one get their “faithful” foes eliminated.

Yet a turn in the most recent season of the popular Peacock series was for the worst for me.

Watching Rob turn gleefully against his teammates Lisa and Candiace struck a distasteful and unsportsmanlike chord that hasn’t left since. After cheering for the traitors to win the game, Rob’s gross “me-only” approach to the game turned me into a faithful.

Speaking to my heart, Rob loves to play Settlers of Catan. And to be sure, there is an element of intrigue with any version of Catan, be it Settlers, Cities & Knights, Seafarers or any combination.

Rob has also said he plays basketball, and that “I’m a big YMCA guy.”

No doubt he’s popular there.

Yet even in Catan, the most dastardly deeds — asking for trades before a resource monopoly card, or stealing a spy with a spy in Cities & Knights — aren’t nearly what Rob did.

Rob was ‘me-only’ and not ‘me-first’ in The Traitors

A “me-only” tactic is very different from a “me-first” approach.

Michael Jordan knew he was the best player on the Chicago Bulls, yet he worked with his teammates to elevate their games, knowing when to support them and when it was time for him — the best player — to carry the team.

Rob was me-only. He set out from the first episode to cast aside his teammates so he alone could benefit.

Rob Rausch is the Terrell Owens of “The Traitors.”

On the flip side, one of the two gay athletes in the bunch — Johnny Weir — was the consummate teammate.

When Michael Rapaport said Colton Underwood is good at lying because he was a closeted gay man for so many years, Underwood’ fiercest supporter at that round table was Weir. Rapaport went after Weir for his support of Underwood during the reunion show.

“I felt you went too far,” Weir said during the reunion show. And clearly, Rapaport did go way too far in his anti-gay comments that attacked Underwood during the show.

The Traitors brings out the worst in Rob and the worst people

Make no mistake, competitors can simultaneously elevate themself while also advancing the team.

The quarterback of any NFL team knows he has to individually rise to MVP, All-Pro and other accolades to give the 53 guys on his squad the best shot at a championship.

That’s not what Rob did this season on “The Traitors.”

Rob systematically eliminated his weak linebacker (sorry Lisa), best wide receiver (yes, Candiace was playing the game well until she blew it) and then took a giant dagger and thrust it into the heart of The Traitors’ Barry Sanders (Eric was bringing him home to the title) so he could double his money, screw everyone and tell the world what a complete a**hole he is.

In the end, like Candiace said in the reunion show hosted by Andy Cohen, Rob acted like a child and refused to admit what was obvious: He’s a selfish a**hole who puts himself above everyone else. And as Mara said in the final episode, any woman would have to be an idiot to trust him.

Eric talked about winning as a person with integrity. Make no mistake: Lying and deception are part of the game with “The Traitors.”

Yet what Rob did to his teammates — Lisa, Candiace and Eric — felt outside the rules. Maura had only herself to blame for allowing herself to be a faithful trapped by Rob’s good looks and venom for her and the other players.

Eric has found a way to use Rob’s villain persona to his own benefit, casting him in a music video as a white slave master imprisoning women and people of color to work on his plantation.

Fans of “The Traitors” may rejoice, even if the music video for “How The Fire Started” Is questionable.

While Rob took home “The Traitors” title, I’ll be forever more proud of Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski for their teamwork and figuring out the game, even if it was in the final episodes.

The company “Kind” has lost me forever — and I’ve regularly bought their products — as they tied themselves to Rob, whom they dubbed the “Kind of Kindness.”

And one other note.

People like Rob kept saying “this is just a game.”

No, “The Traitors” is not just a game.

When you add $200k and millions of viewers, it’s not “just a game.” Stop saying that. It’s a valuable sport.

And Rob exemplified the worst of sportsmanship.

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