Should Athletes Be Role Models?
By Keith Boykin, in sports
Tuesday, December 19 2006, 12:30PM
We've been down this road before. Every time there's a controversy in professional sports, critics jump up and complain that athletes are sending the wrong signals to today's youth. December has shown plenty of reasons for concern. Just a couple of weeks ago, Pittsburgh Steelers player Joey Porter got into trouble in the locker room for calling an opponent, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Kellen Winslow, a "fag." Not long after that, the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets squared off in Madison Square Garden for a bench-clearing brawl that left 10 players ejected and 7 suspended. Then came word that Terrell Owens, already the most controversial player in the NFL, was fined for spitting on an opponent last weekend.
All of this raises a couple of questions. First, who took the "professional" out of professional sports? And second, should we even bother to hold up athletes as role models anymore?
It's not just a few minor players who are causing all the trouble. Some of the troublemakers are marquee names like Nuggets player Carmelo Anthony, the NBA's leading scorer who received a stiff 15-game suspension for throwing a sucker punch in the brawl with the Knicks. And of course there's T.O. himself, always a colorful player, known for his off-the-field antics almost as much as his on-the-field antics.
These are not the first professional athletes embroiled in controversy. It didn't just start happening in this generation. Whenever you elevate a group of people to a celebrity status, controversy surely will follow some of them.
Still, it's fun to think back to the days when athletes like Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Arthur Ashe dominated their respective sports. They were men of distinction and class. Even when they got in trouble, it seemed like they were fighting for something bigger than themselves. When Ali refused to serve in Vietnam, he was widely vilified, but at least he was standing up for a principle and not just his own ego.
Of course, we should be careful not to paint a stereotypical picture of generations with too broad a brush. For all the old guys out there with class, there's still O.J. Simpson who seems to lack it. And for the occasional young guy without class who makes the headlines, there's still a Tiger Woods out there who is widely respected.
Maybe the good, decent players today get overlooked in the media because they're too busy being good, and that's not an interesting story to the press. And maybe we need to remind our kids today that they don't have to pick up a ball to be a hero, but there's nothing wrong with them picking up a ball if they want to.
Whatever the case, professional athletes will always be role models. Whether they all deserve that status is a different story. But that's no different from any other field. Not all doctors and lawyers are good people either. So yes, let's hold our athletes to a high standard, but let's not judge all of them by the mistakes of a few.
Comments conceal
C. Baptiste-Williams
December 19 2006, 1:36PM
It may just be me but I never idolized entertainment and sports figures growing up. Of course I was aware of their accomplishments and admired that but I never looked at one as if they were a role model or someone i would want to immulate.
I was always striving to be more like my mother and uncles and successful family friends.
So I don't think they are setting bad examples, I think as parents we are teaching our children the wrong values.
Bernie
December 19 2006, 1:52PM
I think the whole notion of celebrities of any sort being percieved as role models, is way overblown. I think most people consider real role models to be people they can personally reach out and touch, i.e., parents, teachers, folks right in their own community.
Public figures may be folks whose work we admire, but we can't talk to them when we have a problem, or pick their brain for advice. People who are directly accessible to us have a far greater influence on our lives.
Consequently, when sports figures like Carmelo Anthony--who recently donated $1.5 million to open a youth recreation center in his hometown of Baltimore--suddenly pull a bonehead move like he did Saturday night, I chalk it up to just another human being who made a mistake. Nothing more, nothing less. Who among us hasn't done the same?
The Empress
December 19 2006, 2:15PM
Has anyone stopped to think that maybe these folks are saying a lot of this stuff for the free publicity. I mean seriously, everytime things like that aforementioned happens guess what? Its all over your blogs getting attention...unneccessary attention. Who are we to say if anyone is a good role model or not? I'm sure that's not what they are setting out to be in the first place.
castiron
December 19 2006, 3:13PM
No. Celebrities should not be role models. Young people should look at their mothers and fathers and uncles and aunts and grandpas and grandmas as role models. Most celebrities don't even want the label of 'role model' foisted upon them. They will quickly admit that they are human and flawed just like everyone else. The problem with making them role models is that young people and some of us full-fleged adults are sychophants by nature, that is, we excuse and mistakenly give rich, obnoxious, vulgar celebrities passes for behavior that we would frown upon and sanction were it committed by regular folks. So let's just admire Jay Zee for his business and musical acumen and let's admire La Daminian Tomlinson for his athleticism on the field.
blk_phd
December 19 2006, 4:04PM
My partner has two brother in-laws, one NBA player, one former NBA, and 2 first-cousins NBA players...one very, very famous one in particular. Being that they are now, "may family", as well, I would have never thought some of the things that they have done would have occured. To be honest, since knowing them, HELL NO, do not let your children be influenced by these people. They are all smiles in front of the camera, and women-beaters, dead-beat dads, who are millionaires, or closeted homosexuals who drag others down with his mess! 2 of the four that i have personal relationships with ain't bout nothing behind closed doors, but in the spotlight, they are made to be angelic! With they sorry 'selves!
marlon
December 19 2006, 5:56PM
Unequivocally, no, nein, non, and nada! I concur with Castiron and plk_phd.
eunuch
December 19 2006, 7:54PM
Some folks just don't know how to act. Carmello Anthony is just stupid. The whole thing was over and he hauled off and hit the guy. And it wasn't even about him any way. Stupid, I say.
Steve
December 19 2006, 9:55PM
Who else can pull down 7 figure salaries and get away with calling those around them fags? Do you know anyone in that income class who has spit on an opponent?
FACT: We idolize athletes.
FACT: They are allowed, FROM YOUTH, to get away with things non-athletes are not.
FACT: Highly skilled athletes are given a pass, primarily for the amount of money they make for their "owners."
Let's try this on: Athletes who behave in a no-class manner should be found in breach of their contracts, and banned from their sport, either permanently or until they clean up their act, depending upon how egregious the malfeasance. This action should be taken by the LEAGUE over any objection of an individual owner, because the owner has too much at stake to behave responsibly.
I'd love to see it. I don't hate athletes per se, but I definitely hate those who abuse their life of privilege, whether an athlete or not.
joneshot
December 20 2006, 12:46AM
Parents are role models, athletes are TV stars --almost fictional characters. Lets move on.
Jeff Hobbs
December 20 2006, 3:23AM
You have to know that there are thousands of athletes. Just because there are a handful or in this case a 'fistful' of jackasses making news out of ignorance, you can't lump them all into the same class. The pro athletes and former athletes that I personally know are true gentlemen and role models in their communities. Also in the thousands of athletes you do what you can to stand out. Like Ocho Cinco!LOL Dennis Rodman, etc. Then theres my boyfriend on the Seahawks Mr. Siete Uno!LOL That just made the beer come out my nose! hee hee. Anyway. Whats funny is when someone seems so stellar and you find out otherwise. Like 'the glove' smoking a bowl and then getting his dick sucked by a 'fag'!:)
titi
December 20 2006, 10:14AM
HELL NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
MONEY AND CARREER ACHIEVMENT DOESN'T MAKE A MAN A ROLE MODEL,BUT HIS MORAL VALUES AND WISDOM DOES.
SOME STREET SWEEPERS ARE BETTER ROLE MODELS THAN THOSE CELEBRITY ASSES...THEY ALWAYS END UP FINANCIALY BROKE ANYWAY...AS WE ALL KNOW, MOST OF THIS GUYS BEHAVE LIKE CHILDREN TRAPPE IN ADULTS BODY......DO WE NEED UNCONSCIOUS MEN LIKE THAT AS ROLE MODELS??????? HELL NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... THANK GOD,MOST OF US ARE NOT STUPID TO BUY INTO THAT..
Blue
December 20 2006, 1:12PM
It really is not a matter of what should be, it's a matter of what is. Do I think they should be role models? No, not at all. BUT THEY ARE. They may not want the title but it comes with fame. Lots of kids have nobody in their immediate grasp to look up to, so they look to singers, rappers, athletes and actors to fill the void. So yes, they should be mindful of their behavior because just like those of us who lead everyday lives, they are being watched. It is especially prevalent in the black community. If anything, it's up to us to give our kids better images to follow, or make the good ones that are there more dominant. But with athletes in particular, they have no regaard for anyone else because they've never had to - it's all about them. So nothing that any of them do surprises me in the least. It's a defect in that culture that needs to be fixed.
CHRIS
December 20 2006, 4:00PM
LETS FACE IT!OUR YOUNG BLACK MEN LOOK UP TO ATHELETES AND RAPPERS.ITS A FACT.GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN PEOPLE LOOKED AT THE COSBY SHOW AND WANTED TO BE A DOCTOR OR LAWYER.THESE ATHELETES KNOW MILLIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE[ESPECIALLY YOUNG BLK MEN]LOOK UP TO THEM.I THINK AS A YOUNG BLACK MAN IN THE PUBLIC EYE.YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE YOU PEOPLE LOOK RESPECTABLE.WHAT I SEE PRESENTLY IS NIGGATIVITY.I`VE HAD ENUFF.BROTHAS WHO ARE SIGNING THESE MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACTS TO THROW A BALL AROUND NEED TO BE MORE AWARE OF THERE ACTIONS AND NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY THE COMMUNITY.
Steve
December 20 2006, 7:45PM
Jeff Hobbs : You are right. So why do we let the assholes taint the lot of them? The leagues MUST discipline those who cannot maintain a gentlemanly decorum. And as far as them being gay - how about we acknowledge that publicly? There would be a big step forward for ALL.
Mark Norris
December 20 2006, 8:57PM
I agree with a lot of what has been said already. I have always had a problem with a man who can put a ball through a hoop or run from one side of a football field to the other and get paid millions while the people that our raising and caring for our kids, teachers, doctors, parents etc. barely make enough to get by. In my eyes they are entertainers nothing heroic or model type behavior stems from them. At least not automatically. But, that is the way it seems. As soon as the figures of how much so-and-so makes he is a role model and hero. The bottom line, these are regular folks, people just like you and I. And being that they will make plenty of mistakes, especially if they are young. I know I did. So, role model/hero....NO!! Athlete/entertainer......YES!!
cmoney
December 20 2006, 10:12PM
Athletes are held up as role models because too many of us see athletics as the only way to make a decent living and too many young people have no successful people in their lives who "made it" doing something other than athletics or entertainment. If these kids realized that the odds of them becoming a star athlete in the NFL or NBA (about two million to one) are far worse than their odds at becoming a lawyer, teacher, doctor, engineer, computer programmer, journalist or --anything else-- they might waste less of their time on the ball field and spend more time in the library. Then again, athletes have shoes with their names on them and the only shoes that have some doctor's name on them are Dr. Scholls and Doc Martins---and that aint cool! Oh well (sigh!).
J
December 21 2006, 1:12AM
If I was getting millions to do something I had a natural talent for and loved, you would NOT see me on the five o'clock news looking like a moron.
They all need to be beat.
milt7
December 21 2006, 11:58AM
I think that ones profession, does not necessarily make the person a "role model". There are too many other variables to consider, in order to qualify an individual, as being an overall "role model". I think that being a status symbol for and because of personal wealth and success, is widely confused with being a "role model".
For example...such as the case of Terrell Owens. How can anyone hold this man up, as being a "role-model", when he goes out in public and SPITS, in someones face. Just the act within itself is disturbing,enough to warrant immediate concern.This is a terrible thing.
DonPato
December 21 2006, 11:02PM
spitting on a opponent? anyway merry christmas and happy new year to all.
LOvve and Peace for all.
DonPato
GayMexico.net
Vincent Young
January 9 2007, 1:58PM
Hello
Some of you might know me. I'm Vince Young from the Tennesee Titans and former University of Texas Longhorns Rose Bowl Champion. I was surfing the world wide web today when I stumbled across this article. I just want to say, I've been around and believe me, no professional atheletes feel obligated to be role models. Some might act like it, but it's all for the publicity. I think most kids out there look up to atheletes for their level of skill and not the way they live their lives off the field. Myself, I've been forced into the spotlight but I would much rather be recognized strictly for my skills rather than my reputation or how much money I donate to charities.
Peace
Vince
Brendan
February 1 2007, 9:50PM
Athletes are role models because of the media. Personally I don't care about the personal lives of entertainers. I want to be entertained by a game or movie and then that's it. The media focuses on the negatives because they are more interesting news. It's not their fault or athletes fault that they set bad examples. Bad examples are everywhere, in all walks of life (Corporate America, Government, etc.) But as long as they are scrutinized by the media, on and off the field, then they will be role models. It's up to us individually and parents to guide our own lives and our childrens lives.
Daniel Martinez
February 7 2007, 3:09PM
How about All of yall just SHUT THE FUCK UP
Krista
April 12 2007, 5:52PM
Im writing a paper on that fact that i think professional athletes should be considered role models but now that i have researched a couple of web sites and looked at a few books my view is changing. It may just be me but all of the bad things that athletes do over comes all of the good things. More athletes beat their wives then give to charities i live in NC and we have 2 athletes on the Panters who made a school or day care for kids. Mike Rucker and Mike Minter those two have done so much for our community and it all gets over looked. Between Steve Smith getting thrown out of one game for touching a ref or the violence in hockey (Hurricanes), The duke lacrosse team having alagations of raping some girl. It all over powers the good things that athletes do and there are more of them do the wrong things.
c
August 19 2007, 3:14AM
And to Daniel Martinez thanks for the vulgur language thank god our kids are still idolizing overpaid actors and athletes and not looking to see how ridiculous it is for them to do so. It is sad to me that you have that small of a vocabulary that you had to post that comment. If you have nothing more than that to add couldn't you have kept it to yourself?
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