Twenty years ago, children hoped to become firefighters or doctors, but nowadays, they hope to become the next Kobe Bryant. Think about how many professional and college-level athletes have encountered trouble with the law. Just to name a few, O.J. Simpson, Michael Vick, Tony Allen, Terrell Owens, Ricky Williams, and a large portion of the Duke LaCrosse team have all faced legal trouble.
It really says a lot about our society when children aspire to be like criminals instead of honest, hard-working individuals. I think we all agree that someday we want our children to go to college, instead of relying on athletic ability alone. Sure, the ability to run fast and throw a football will earn you millions of dollars for a short time, but eventually the gravy train will end. What happens when these athletes who have received no real education can no longer perform as well as the younger generation? Not only is their lack of education hurting themselves, it sends out a negative message to America's youth. Kids don't think they need to go to college anymore, or even follow the law.
Over the past few years, there have been numerous NFL, NBA, and collegiate athletes who have committed severe crimes. Among the most famous and heinous would have to be murder charges, animal cruelty, rape, theft, drug use, and violence. Is this who we want our children's heroes to be? How do you think we can change our children's views of success?
13 comments:
I do agree with the fact that professional athletes seem to think that they're invincible and whatever wrong they do can be dismissed with a slap on the wrist. And I do agree that children and young adolescents are subjected to these wrongdoings in an impressionable way. However, I do think that education is still highly pressured amongst the youth. Even with so many athletes getting in trouble with the law, every day you see more and more pro athletes joining, sponsoring, and emphasizing on education programs and sharing their influential power geared towards the youth.
I think that education is still a top priority. As fields of study and careers become more challenging, even going farther than a bachelor's degree is greatly encouraged. In addition, professional athletes may not have this higher education, but they didn't get the million dollar contracts without having some sort of work ethic. They may naturally possess an extraordinary talent, but somewhere down the road it had to be sharpened and perfected with many years and long hours of extreme dedication and hard work.
When I have children, celebrities, such as athletes and movie stars, will still be making stupid mistakes. If these athletes are role models for my children, I will have my kids' emphasis on their hard work and dedication be at the forefront, as opposed to their stupid mistakes. As for my childrens' priority being education, that is my job; I will be the one to push higher education on my children.
Well said, Whitney, but I have one objection to your comment. The problem with the "good work ethic" that these athletes have is that it is often not seen by kids. THey don't see the ethic, they just see the results. Kudos to you for planning on making sure that your kids learn about having determinationa and a good work ethic when they see celebrities on tv. But I still think that not enough kids know about the work ethic side of sports; again, they only see results.
Let me say, though, that I do agree with the overall point of the post. Professional sports players think they are above the law and can walk all over anyone in their paths. The problem is that we make them into these over-hyped demigods by buying into this whole cult of professional sports presented to us by the media. The more we watch and the more that we dismiss athletes' behavior as "Oh, it's just what they do, look at how sad that is. Ok, let's ignore it now," the longer this cult of worshipping these people and their poor role modeling is going to continue.
I'm not sure exactly how, but I feel this must be relevant:
http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-football
I agree that our culture seems to to place athletes on a pedestal regardless of whether or not they deserve it. I think we are sending the wrong message to school children when we idolize athletes that commit crimes and use performance-enhancing drugs. There seems to be a double standard in which the athletes aren't expected to be accountable for the same expectations as the "common" people. I don't see this aspect of our culture changing until endorsements and advertisements are based more on character and work ethic than performance...a change that is very unlikely.
Kari, I think you're right. But ethics and moral courage do not bring endorsements. Points, runs, touchdowns, and other stats are what bring companies swarming to athletes.
Dr. Sitter: hopefully people don't vote on the president they'd rather watch football with, but perhaps it's as influential a reason as any other for some.
Part of the problem with using any public figure as a role model lies in how the media portrays that figure. Athletes, as a group, are only taken note of outside of games if they do something stupid or criminal. As Whitney stated, many pro athletes do good work for society, but their labors rarely appear in headline news. To claim that professional athletes feature "the least amount of education, and some might say morals," is a sweeping and an unfair statement.
Twenty years ago, kids likely wanted to be Larry Bird as much as they want to be Kobe Bryant these days. Has our admiration for athletes increased since? Sports figures have been revered since the Greeks, and this attitude will likely not change. So, is anyone to be considered at fault for this situation?
I would say that a majority of people at one time or another wanted to be a proffesional athlete. I know that when I was young I wanted to play in the NFL, even though I never remember ever really looking up to an athlete as a hero though.
I don't think there is a major problem with a kid having a sports hero as long as the hero in question is a person that has a good history and is an actual role model for the child. Unfourtanetly when you hear about athletes outside of gameday the news always seems to be negative. I think the only time I ever really hear positive stories of athletes is on Outside The Lines on ESPN, a heart warming story about someone overcoming some issue to paly sports in a short on Sports Center, or actually reading about soemthing good an athelte did in a news paper.
The problem is that you hardly ever hear the good stories about athletes. I heard a story about how there was a place in Las Vegas that was taking bets on if the first player in the NFL to get arrested this season would be on the Cincinnati Bengals or from anywhere else in the NFL. (Sadly the odds where higher for betting on the Bengals)
I feel that if I were a parent looking for an appropriate athlete role model it might just be able to pick athletes that shouldn't be role models, just because you never hear the good stories. If your looking for an athlete role model you might be better going back in time and looking for someone like Rudy, atleast his story isn't built on uncanny skill but hard work on the field and in the class room.
I don't think it is a problem for people to have atheletes as role models. I admire many professional atheletes, one of which is Chris Henry. He may not have a spotless criminal record, but he is extremely good at football. I love to watch him run fades, burning the defense for a quick six, because they are too busy covering Ocho Cinco and T.J. Whosyourmamma(Two other good role models). His stats are very impressive, especially for a third receiver, and he plays for the Bengals. Thats two reasons people should admire him.
I do not believe that having a professional athlete as a role model is a bad thing for children. After all, not anyone can become a professional athlete. It takes hard work, discipline, and determination.
What I do see a problem with is having a professional athlete as a child's only role model. We do not get to see how athletes live their day to day lives rather we see how they perform on a field or court. Children need to know that the values imparted by athletes are only some of the most important values. They are not all of them. In an ideal world the parents would be the ultimate role models that would serve as moral compasses for their children.
Very well said Sylvia!
I agree with Sylvia that pro athletes as role models are not a bad thing. As a small child, I didn’t know about the bad records that went along with the athletes’ names. And when I was old enough to read about stories in magazines or see them on tv, I knew what was a right action and what was a wrong action. I looked up to the athletes as just that, athletes. Their personal life was something completely different. So for a person to blame bad teen behavior on the influences of pro athletes seems wrong. The pro athletes actions are just used as an excuse to make the teen’s actions seem less wrong. When in reality, the teen knew what they were doing all along.
i agree with Sylvia. Not gonna lie, but Mia Hamm was one of my idols in grade school. She worked so hard to help the USA team, so i see no reason in believing athletes as role models.
but again education needs to be a top priority for every child. Being skilled in basketball and football will only take you so far. I mean, look at "ocho cinco". i feel bad for kids who idolize him. He thinks he is a god, he even challenged Michael Phelps to a swim contest. Seriously?
Education can take you further than throwing a basketball in a hoop, but if it is your dream to be like a famous athlete..then good luck! i mean that sincerely. its better to follow your dreams.
I agree with the original posting. I believe today's generation is raised to look up to improper role models. Now before I go on developing me point, let me just say that I do agree not everyone can become a professional athlete. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment to go pro. And it is true that there are many professional athletes who are continuing their educations. From firsthand experience, I have had a few students whom I know have gone on to become minor leaguers and peewee coaches. However, having said that, there does seem to be a growing correlation between professional athleticism and crime. Kids will grow up to think they can commit crimes and get away with it, as many athletes today do appear to get off on lenient charges, simply because they play for a professional team. This is truly appalling. Children today need a real hero. A last action hero
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