Superstar Athletes: Role Models??

Michael Vick.  Alex Rodriguez.  Marion Jones.  Kobe Bryant. 

Names that we all have heard over and over.  Names that are easily recognizable by people who are not admitted sports junkies.  Athletes at the top of their craft who were halted (or at least slowed down) by some questionably unethical activity.

Is he just a product of a rough neighborhood?  Was he really unaware of what was being injected into his body?  Was she thinking that she would get away with what her fellow Olympian husband couldn’t?  Was the encounter truly consensual?  There are a few of some very pointed questions which have interrupted the flow of ESPN’s Sportscenter highlights. 

Didn’t these athletes know that they are adored by millions – particularly small kids?  How could they be so self-absorbed and immoral?  As a testament to the fact that the public embraces these athletes, shouldn’t they be responsible enough to handle themselves with more integrity?

Yes, yes and yes.  And they should be ashamed of themsleves.  But not because the answers to those questions is “yes”, but rather that they deal with the same everyday aspects of life that we do – - except theirs is under a microscope.

All of us outsiders deem the acts of the athletes, that I chose as examples, to be despicable.  But while none of us have financed a dogfighting network, many of us are dishonest to some degree on a daily basis.  And I’m willing to bet that the dishonesty will benefit us in some way (whether we admit it or not).  So, that sounds a lot like “performance enhancing dishonesty” to me.

Professional athletes are nothing more than human beings with special skills and abilities.  And they are paid a hefty amount – as entertainers.  When an athlete makes it to the professional ranks, that athlete does not become a role model.  In actuality, other people anoint that athlete with such a title. 

And what do we really know about that athlete that makes him or her a role model?  Let’s just sit on that for a minute.  Anyone who is not a world-famous athlete would be called to show some actual attributes that would enable him or her to be called a role model.  And even so, that person struggles with daily life just like everyone else, including the megastar athlete.

So, enjoy the abilities that these athletes bring to the table.  And the next time that you hear a superstar mentioned as a role model…pause for a second to think about how much we all know – - or don’t know – - about him.