Athletes as role models and parents as parents

I must say this Blog has been banging around in my head for quite some time but it seems more and more that athletes are being portrayed in the media as monsters, as tidbits about their personal lives hit the television, radio, and newspapers. I will touch on the sports media largely being nothing more than a bunch of tabloid hacks in another article but today I want to dig into the way they portray these athletes as people and sports figures.

Let's review some of the more recent poo flinging scandals. Brett Favre accused of sending "racy" text messages and photos to a team employee when he was a member of the NY Jets. Braylon Edwards getting a DWI. Ben Rothlisberger having inappropriate relations with a young "lady" in a club bathroom. Tiger Woods cheating on his wife with multiple women.

Now for some not so recent. Barry Bonds and the rest of the media drubbed "steroid era" players being vilified for cheating. Pete Rose and his gambling problem. Kobe Bryant being accused of rape. Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley and their gambling issues.

All these things both recent and not so recent have several things in common but the two things that stand out most are that they got HUGE media attention and the players involved were slammed by media outlets, fellow professionals, and fans. Don't get me wrong, in every instance I mentioned the player involved made a giant error in judgement and did something that I think we can all agree on was morally wrong. Did everyone read that right? I said MORALLY WRONG. These professional athletes were morally wrong but people by and large want to condemn them as scum and even go so far as to blast them as athletes. What they did wrong may make them bad people but it in NO WAY makes them a bad athlete.

Pete Rose gambled on baseball. You can question his morals but you cannot question that he was one of the best players ever to swing a bat. Michael Jordan had a gambling problem. You can question his morals but you cannot question that he may be the best player ever to pick up a basketball. Brett Favre is accused of flirting with a team employee while he was married. You can question his morals but you cannot question that he may be the best quarterback ever to throw a pass. Tiger Woods had affairs with numerous women while married. You can question his morals but you cannot question that he is one of the best golfers ever to swing a club.

I think you see my point. So many times it seems like the media and even fans want to connect the players personal lives with their accomplishments on the field. This seems ridiculous to me. I watch all these players and think to myself... these are some of the best players in the history of sports but they sure do lack a strong sense of morals and in some cases integrity. Believe it or not, you can appreciate an athlete for his play on the field, rink, course, etc while disagreeing with his morals and beliefs as a person. It can be done people. I stand as a living testimonial of this ground breaking fact. So much is made of the professional athlete as a role model or lack there of. Yes, countless years ago, players were looked to as role models for kids and adults alike. Lots of little boys grew up wanting to be just like their favorite pro hero. That was realistic then because the media did not report the players personal baggage. It was easy to idolize a player because all you had to base it on was his or her performance on their filed of choice. Now however, as unfortunate is it is, you must separate the player from the person. Don't get me wrong there are some athletes, a good majority I would venture to say, that are great people and they gladly take on the mantle of role model. There are some however that do not want this title and do not believe that it should be forced upon them. I must say that I agree with them in this day and age. The world has changed and so have the people who live in it. It does not make the moral and personal indiscretions right it just means that people should not view them as both good people and good athletes.

Long road to tie in the title of this article but here it is. Parents. You need to wake up and realize that your kids can like and idolize an athlete for being great even if he is one of the people I mentioned above or another athlete that has done similar things. It is YOUR JOB as a parent to make them see the separation that has to exist between what they do on the field and then off the field. I would want my kids to idolize every athlete I mentioned in this article... for their play on the field. It is my responsibility, not those athletes, to make them strong moral people.

A note to all the adults who cannot make the separation. Those who stop being a fan of a player that has done great things in sports but has made personal mistakes. Those that bash them as being horrible in general based on those types of things... get over yourself. Get off your moral high horse and realize that you can be a great athlete and still be a horrible person. "Normal" people do it in their lives every day. You can be a great doctor, lawyer, teacher or any other profession and still be a complete and utter poor excuse for a human being personally.

The ultimate point here is that adults and kids alike seem to be losing their love of sports based on the kinds of things mentioned above. Sports was a HUGE part of my life and was very instrumental in making me the person I am today. I think I am a pretty good person. Not perfect by any means but I do the best I can. I was taught a solid sense or morals and the difference between right and wrong by good parents. Sports can help kids in so many ways and the love of sports needs to be fostered and encouraged.

Shame on the athletes for doing things that or morally wrong and sometimes worse...
But shame on the adults and parents for not being able to separate on the field from off the field to try to keep the love of sports alive.

See you soon from the cheap seats