The Sports Illustrated Jinx Refers to the Idea That Athletes

The Sports Illustrated jinx refers to the idea that athletes who are featured on the cover of the magazine after exceptional performances typically perform worse in subsequent competitions.The most likely statistical explanation of this phenomenon is

A) regression toward the mean level of performance.
B) an increase standard deviation for the amount of pressure the athletes experience.
C) an increase in the mean level of athletes' arrogance.
D) a decrease in the standard deviation of opposing athletes' effort during subsequence competitions.