Steroids in baseball. Michael Phelps smoking grass. Assorted sports figures from multiple arenas brought up on charges for a host of felonies. What does it mean? Most sports people I know feel we are in dangerous times for professional athletics.
I, on the other hand, feel like all of this is a very positive thing for the American people. It's hopefully making people recognize that sports figures, even the most talented, are just people. They never asked to be role models. They just wanted to play baseball, or swim really $%#* fast. We made them into people to look up to. People our children should model themselves after. We decided to hold them up on a pedestal, from which anyone would eventually fall.
Why would we trust them like that? We don't know anything about them, as people. We've never met them. We don't know who they socialize with, what they believe in, or what they do after the cameras go dark. If we applied those same criteria to some random joe on the street, would you blindly trust your children to them then? Likely not.
But we don't have to make blanket statements here. It's not, as an absolute rule, bad to use sports figures as role models. But use them only for what you know about them. Let them demonstrate how determination, hard work, and sheer force of will can accomplish great things. Let them demonstrate how anyone can be successful, if they try hard enough. Just don't expect them to be morally upright (by your definition) members of society, ready for you to pin your hopes for your children on their actions.
They're just people. Great at some things. Bad at others.
It would be extremely positive if more parents were role models, instead of some random NFL running back.
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I would have to agree!! :-) Maybe that is why we have declined in society!!! Parents need to stop finding someone to blame and start taking action in their children's lives!!
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