Should athletes be role models? I will be straight out with my answer: No. According to Google, the definition of a role model is "a person looked to by others as an example to be imitated." In other words, a role model should be a parent, teacher, or close adult friend. Unfortunately, especially in today's sports, athletes are not the people parents would want their children to imitate.
I am sure no parents would want their sons to beat their wife the way Ray Rice did, or cheat like Tom Brady did. Not just limited to these two, Adrian Peterson abused his four-year-old son. And then there is the category of athletes who were considered good role models, until it was revealed that they actually weren't. Good examples of these are Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, and Alex Rodriguez. The list goes on and on. And on.
I'm not saying all athletes are bad. Of course, there are some exceptions to the typical athlete. Think Derek Jeter, for example. He didn't talk much inside the Yankees locker room, yet he led by example, doing what was right and expecting his teammates to follow his way. He emphasized to his young fans that looks and abilities was not important; it was character that should pull a person up. Or heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis, who reinforced to his young male fans proper behaviour by asserting that "Real men don't hit women" after another boxer was exiled for beating his girlfriend. Athletes have the incredible opportunity to influence a wide variety of people. Yet, most of the time, they do not use it for good.
NBA basketball player Charles Barkley was the first athlete to bluntly state that athletes are not, and should not be role models in 1993. Back then, it was taboo to talk of such things so candidly, because athletes were revered, and his statements shocked North America. “I am not a role model . . . Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids,” he tells basketball fan parents across the States.
Barkley has it right: athletes are not role models. And they should not be. The fact that we see athletes as role models shows the decline of our moral standards, and this is wrong. Parents should not let their kids become too attached to athletes as role models, because these kids will end up being disappointed.
Sources
Dobie, Michael. "Dobie: Athletes Aren't Automatic Role Models." Newsday. Newsday, 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
Smoll, Frank L. "Are Athletes Good Role Models?" Psychology Today. Psychology Today, 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
Mendes, Ian. "Why Athletes Should Never Be Role Models for Kids - Today's Parent." Today's Parent. Today's Parent, 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
