Sports figures as role models
Ben Levine
Issue date: 2/12/09 Section: Op/Ed
It seems that the morality of athletes is at an all-time low. Michael Vick was convicted of dog fighting: Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Rafael Palmero were convicted (as of now by the public, but later probably by a judge and jury) of steroid use: Practically everyone on the Cincinnati Bengals has committed a crime. Adam "Pac Man" Jones made it rain in a gentleman's club, even Michael Jordan had trouble with gambling, and now Michael Phelps has admitted to smoking marijuana and Alex Rodriguez allegedly tested positive for steroids in 2003. It has been argued that the money and fame also comes with a responsibility to the public to be role models. Therefore, they must behave in a particular way and live up to our standards. The question is: should we be looking up to these people in the first place?
These athletes do have a responsibility to the children who look up to them. Children, who are at an impressionable age, are susceptible to follow the actions of those whom they look up to. In a society where parents are nowhere to be found, children must find their own role models. When a kid outgrows cartoons, or even before, he may turn to following sports. One of the favorite topics of discussion on shows like SportsCenter is the latest run- in with the law of our beloved athletes. A child, who has inevitably picked athletes to idolize, sees that one of his favorite athletes has committed a crime. There is certainly an anxiety among our society that children will see these actions and assume that, because their favorite football player took steroids, that this behavior is okay. There is also a concern that a child will see his favorite player fall from grace and will be deeply saddened by this discovery.
People are quick to become nostalgic about athletes of old. However, athletes have been behaving badly for years. In the early days of baseball, Ty Cobb was a notoriously dirty player. He used to sharpen his spikes before a game. On one instance, he was beaned by an opposing pitcher. At his next at bat, he laid a bunt down the first base side. When the pitcher ran to pick up the ball, Cobb knocked him over and dug his spikes into his chest, cutting open his chest and sending him to the hospital. The Black Sox scandal of the 1919 World Series, in which eight players were implicated in a conspiracy to throw the World Series for money, also showed athletes in a less than positive light. It goes back to at least 5th century BC Greece. Cleomedes, a Greek Olympic athlete, killed his opponent with a tactic which was later ruled illegal. When he was accused of cheating, his prize was rescinded. In a rage, he killed sixty children by causing the roof of their school house to collapse.
These athletes do have a responsibility to the children who look up to them. Children, who are at an impressionable age, are susceptible to follow the actions of those whom they look up to. In a society where parents are nowhere to be found, children must find their own role models. When a kid outgrows cartoons, or even before, he may turn to following sports. One of the favorite topics of discussion on shows like SportsCenter is the latest run- in with the law of our beloved athletes. A child, who has inevitably picked athletes to idolize, sees that one of his favorite athletes has committed a crime. There is certainly an anxiety among our society that children will see these actions and assume that, because their favorite football player took steroids, that this behavior is okay. There is also a concern that a child will see his favorite player fall from grace and will be deeply saddened by this discovery.
People are quick to become nostalgic about athletes of old. However, athletes have been behaving badly for years. In the early days of baseball, Ty Cobb was a notoriously dirty player. He used to sharpen his spikes before a game. On one instance, he was beaned by an opposing pitcher. At his next at bat, he laid a bunt down the first base side. When the pitcher ran to pick up the ball, Cobb knocked him over and dug his spikes into his chest, cutting open his chest and sending him to the hospital. The Black Sox scandal of the 1919 World Series, in which eight players were implicated in a conspiracy to throw the World Series for money, also showed athletes in a less than positive light. It goes back to at least 5th century BC Greece. Cleomedes, a Greek Olympic athlete, killed his opponent with a tactic which was later ruled illegal. When he was accused of cheating, his prize was rescinded. In a rage, he killed sixty children by causing the roof of their school house to collapse.