According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 73 percent of children ages 10 to 17 named athletes as their role models. Not all athletes believe this. A decade ago, in a commercial for Nike, Charles Barkley famously said, 'I am not a role model.' While the commercial may have acted as a noble plea to parents to take a more active role in their child's life, Sir Charles was wrong. He was a role model, just as all athletes are.
Unfortunately, many of today's stars, be they actors or athletes, seem to have forgotten the profound role they play in many kids' lives.
Last week, Ricky Williams failed another drug test and is facing a one-year suspension. Previously, Williams had taken a year off to center himself in India. Many saw it for what it was:a shameless attempt to shun his responsibilities to his team for his own selfish, drug-induced ends.
Our own Wisconsin Badger football players have also proven to be less than stellar role models, with eight arrests in a span of 42 days, the football team more closely resembled a police lineup than Division I athletes recently. With charges including sexual assault, battery, disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana.
But football players are not the only sports stars to be hit with a tidal wave of misbehavior. The steroid scandal in baseball has severely tarnished what has long been called 'America's Pastime.'
Baseball players used to be some of the best role models out there. When I was a kid, my favorite player was Cal Ripken Jr. because he was the Ironman. No one could touch him. An athlete with that kind of work ethic is who we want children to look up to.
The 1998 home-run race sparked our interest in baseball again as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa knocked them out at a startling pace. We now know that McGwire most likely used steroids. He was a role model ,and now kids have been let down.
The Terrell Owens saga in Philadelphia, Ron Artest punching a fan and numerous other incidents prove that today's athletes should not be looked up to.
This isn't to say all athletes are bad people. When Barkley released that commercial in 1993, David Robinson spoke out against it, making it known that he was a role model. Doug Flutie comes to mind as well with The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. John Lynch, Fred McGriff, Derrick Brooks, Tino Martinez and Wade Boggs have all been honored with The Tampa Tribune Peoples Champion Award, which recognizes athlete's for their commendable charity work.
But with all the recent press of athletes failing drug tests and being arrested, an image change is necessary. Parents need to take the opportunity to speak with their children about these issues. They need to discuss the consequences of the mistakes they see athletes make. Hopefully, it will help put things into perspective.
It does not end there. Athletes need to clean up their image and realize they are in the spotlight'not only for their grand achievements, but also their dismal failures. Charles Barkley may have believed that just because he was an athlete didn't mean he had to be a role model, but he was wrong. Athletes have a responsibility to entertain as well as to demonstrate good behavior.
