Role Model: A person who serves as a model in a particular behavioral or social role for another person to emulate. According to a Time magazine survey, we live in a society where 67 percent of people look up to professional athletes as role models. With that said, athletes are expected to live a sin-free life without over intoxication, gambling, and affairs, but they’re paid millions of dollars every year, so why wouldn’t they indulge, right?
Athletes are exalted and placed on pedestals so high that the first foul play could result in a nasty fall. In the past decade, we’ve seen some of sport’s greatest stars descend so shockingly low as to be labeled as normal people. The ignominies range from sex scandals to performance enhancements.
Being a pro athlete entitles you to obtain things you’ve always wanted, whether it’s fast cars, sizzling jewelry, or pretty women. So when given the opportunity, a lot of people take it and run with it.
When you think of sex scandals, people are likely to recall the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, pro golfer Tiger Woods, and most recently Minnesota Vikings’ Brett Favre. These three were possibly the best athletes in their particular sport; they earned respect and sculpted a clean-cut image perceived worldwide, so why jeopardize that?
When their dirty laundry was spread all across newspapers and TV for the world to view, spectators screamed and roared how horrible they were. They lost their sponsorships, because people tied their media-created images to their products.
I wonder if the athletes knew that their images would be so battered by joining in the sins committed by more than half of married men.
We’ve all heard the motto “bigger, faster, stronger,” so why is it such a shocker when an athlete takes that statement literally? Cyclist Lance Armstrong, Little Leaguer Danny Almonte, and MLB player Sammy Sosa all have been accused of cheating in their sports in order to be considered the best.
Armstrong was portrayed as a hero for surviving cancer, fighting hard to overcome his sickness. Now he’s on trial for doping up on steroids, fighting to retain his legacy.
Danny was pushed by coaches, fans, and family members to play in a younger age group in order to dominate over them. What kind of message are we sending to kids when we tell them it’s okay to lie as long as it’s to win?
No need to comment on the MLB steroid list, which seems to grow longer each year.
In the end we are all human. We all have needs and wants. I personally don’t view someone who plays a sport as being a role model; maybe it’s just me.
We should give more recognition to the everyday people who help shape the world around us, people such as teachers, firemen, or senators. Pro athletes are just regular people placed into spotlights 24/7. Don’t go ballistic when we catch them in an act we committed last week. Just saying-.