Gilbert Arenas is the most recent athlete to fall from grace. There are many other professional athletes I can name who at one point were at the top of their game (literally) and wound up at the bottom of the heap.
What is it about so many professional athletes who think that the law doesn't apply to them? Or maybe they think they can break the law with no consequences because they can afford the best lawyers to get them off. Or that the police will recognize "who they are" and wink, wink... nod, nod... look the other way for illegal activity. Personally - I don't even think there is that much awareness. They are just living in the present, with no thought to the future.
Well you know what?? It doesn't work that way. You are not above the law - Michael Vick went to federal prison, and Gilbert Arenas could serve up to 6 months in jail. Ray Lewis made a plea deal, after the witnesses to his crime "changed their story" and he made a plea deal to testify against his companions. (I'm HIGHLY suspicious of this, and have quite a bit of contempt for Lewis. But that's another whole blog post...) Not to mention those athletes like Tiger Woods and Magic Johnson whose personal behavior is morally questionable but not illegal.
What athletes need to realize is that they are role models, like it or not. You - the young athelte - need to know and recognize this LONG before you enter the draft, or farm leagues, or even try out for college teams. With fame comes responsibility. You need to know going in that with the posters, shoe deals, tricked out Escalade, ginormous paycheck, and VIP treatment at every restaurant and nightclub, comes the image that SO MANY young people see and want to imitate.
You cannot tell yourself as you cash your check that it's all about how you perform on the court or field, and everything else is private. NOTHING is private these days. You may say that you never asked for any of this - well guess what? The minute you signed that multi-million dollar contract, YOU DID. Whether you like it or not, these days, that is how it works.
Your name and face are all over the cereal boxes and bobble heads. Young kids wear your shoes and jersey number; they pay BIG bucks to see you play and dream that they can one day do what you do. If they play hard enough, they CAN be you. For that - you owe them the responsibility of a public image worth emulating. Be someone worthy of this praise. Live a life - on and off the court - that you are proud of. Make good decisions - ones that you would want your son, daughter, niece, nephew, and grandchildren to make.
That is what your legacy will be. Not how many triple-doubles you had in your career, or your election into the Hall of Fame. Your WHOLE life - one not just of talented athletic performance, but one of good deeds and good words will be your legacy. Make it one you are proud of.
3 comments:
I do not think it is up to the athlete to realize they are role models, it is up to US, the citizenry to enforce the morals we wish others to live by.
Michael Vick playing for the Eagles? BOYCOTT THEM! Don't go to the games, don't watch, don't buy the stuff.
Tiger? Rodman? All of those over priced, over paid, badly behaved players only exist because WE support their teams.
Wanna stop badly behaved people? Then we need to put our money where our mouths are and send a message to the greedy owners that hire this riff raf! I gave up on professional sports long ago! It is a moral wasteland.
I don't buy it. First off, these impressionable kids would not even know about the indiscretions of their idols if the media and ridiculous gossipy busybodies didn't run around harping about them, often out of spite and jealousy.
And even then, it's not like there's some kid out there now saying to himself "I want to grow up and be an adulterer, just like Tiger!"
Not to mention the ridiculous double-standards we have about these things. Michael Vick goes to federal prison for dogfighting, but Sarah Palin can shoot wolves from a helicopter even when they are endangered and not harming anyone? Tiger Woods is a cheating scumbag, but David Letterman is a hero for standing up to his blackmailer?
I think we would be better off it parents stopped depending on other people to be role models for their children.
Thanks both of you for your candid opinions. I agree with it being up to us to decide who and what to support, either financially by supporting their teams, or by continuing to talk about them. But it's not about "should" - it's about "IS" - what SHOULD happen is that the Eagles should play in front of an empty stadium; what SHOULD happen is parents should be role models for their kids. But what IS happening is the opposite. Until (IF EVER!) that changes, the reality is that athletes do have hero status - deservedly so or not - and therefore are responsible for their behavior since it WILL wind up on the front page- like it or not.
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