Many people idolize professional athletes, their fame, fortune, lifestyle, and sense of invincibility; all contribute to the public’s idolization of these figures. Unfortunately, these same characteristics often lead to trouble for young athletes who obtain all of this power and fame at such an early age. Many athletes often find themselves on the wrong side of the law due to carrying concealed weapons, drug possession, getting into fights, dog fighting, steroids, and in some cases, even being accused of rape.
These same athletes should have some sense of a moral obligation to realize that people, especially children, look up to them as heroes. It seems as though a week cannot go by without the public having to hear about another athlete that find themselves in some sort of trouble. Over the past few years, we have seen some very famous athletes that have been in legal predicaments, including; Kobe Bryant (accused of rape, however; charges were dropped), Barry Bonds (numerous steroid accusations and now has a federal perjury charge pending against him), Adam “Pac-Man” Jones (been involved in numerous incidents, including; playing a role in a night club bouncer being shot and paralyzed), and Michael Vick (currently serving prison time for his role in a dog-fighting ring). The biggest problem seems to be the gun-toting athletes. Luke Scott, a pitcher for the Houston Astros, “estimates that as many as 20 percent of Major League Baseball players carry concealed weapons, and more than 50 percent own some type of gun. A bodyguard for NBA players, estimates that close to 60 percent of basketball players carry a gun and Jabar Gaffney, a wide receiver for the New England Patriots, thinks that 90 percent of NFL players have firearms. (Berko, Delsohn, Rovegno, 2006) These are only a few examples of “so-called” heroes and the problems that they represent in our society.
This is definitely not to say that all athletes are bad people and that some of them are not deserving of the heroic status, however; the media seems to focus much more on the negative than the positive, after all, negativity sells newspapers and gets ratings. You will very seldom hear about athletes like Warrick Dunn, a running back for the Atlanta Falcons, who every year purchases a brand new home for an underprivileged single mother in the Atlanta region. Dunn is truly a hero for everyone to look up to and admire.
Athletes, whether they want to be or not, are role models and serve as heroes to many people. They can play a significant role in the psyche of a child, we can only hope and wish that they start to realize the seriousness and consequences that their actions carry.
References
Berko, S., Delsohn, S., & Rovegno, L. (2006) Athletes and guns. ESPN Outside the lines. Retrieved November 30th, 2007, from http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?id=2691043
1 comment:
I wonder if athletes (and other celebrities for that matter) are getting into more trouble than they used to or if we just hear about it more. I absolutely agree with you that negative news gets more publicity than positive news, which I think speaks badly about our culture. The only thing that you can do is not buy the tabloids and other media sources that make most of their money by selling smut. The most powerful impression you can make is with your wallet.
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