Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Athletes as role models research
Athletes as role models research
Athletes as role models research
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Athletes as role models research
Since professional sports were first introduced, players have been viewed as role models. Recently the question has been raised as to whether or not this is a proper thing for them to be. Michael Vick tortured and murdered dogs, Barry Bonds cheated his way to stardom, and countless others are just no-good, pampered divas. There are some that shine out through the mess of egotism and are devoted athletes who give back to the community. This suggests that there can be no blanket statement as to whether professional athletes should serve as role-models. Individual athletes can be evaluated as to how good a role-model they can be. There are plenty of valid criteria, but the most important of them would have to be their athleticism, their intellect, their dedication, and their integrity. These four criteria are sufficient in deciding whether or not a professional athlete is fit for being a role-model.
Before we start analyzing who is better than whom and which athlete deserves more attention and such we must clearly define what a role-model is. The simplest way to describe it is a person who models a role, whatever that role may be. This opens the door for some rather interesting conclusions, such as, even though Michael Vick tortured and murdered dogs he may still function as a role model for athletes because his torturing and murdering of dogs did not affect his athletic performance and he is still a devoted and successful athlete. This conclusion must be valid if the definition of role-model is true. Michael Vick may not be an optimal role model for a developing athlete, but he can still be an effective one because Michael Vick is a good athlete. This definition of a role-model also works well outside of professional sports. One wo...
... middle of paper ...
...els for someone who did not care for more than their athletic performance. With this in mind we can say that professional athletes function as perfect role-models for people who want to be professional athletes, but if a person wants them to be a role-model for a role other than athlete, then it all depends on which athlete and which role.
Bibliography
Griffin, Geoff. Are Athletes Good Role Models? Detroit: Greenhaven, 2005. Print.
Teitelbaum, Stanley H. Sports Heroes, Fallen Idols. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2005. Print.
Standen, Jeffrey. Taking Sports Seriously: Law and Sports in Contemporary American Culture. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic, 2009. Print.
Standen, Jeffery. "The Sports Law Professor." : Athletes as Role Models. Google Inc., 29 Feb. 2007. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. .
Ethical Rules on Sport’s Justice. Dallas: East Dallas Times, page 21. 2008. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Print: Harry, Patrick Hayes.
This research paper will determine whether professional athletes deserve a second chance to play in professional sports after inappropriate behaviors. Professional athletes are considered idols and are often held to higher standards. Society has become concerned with so many of today’s athletes making the evening news for their unsuitable behaviors.
Throughout the country young men and women are losing their priority for an education. To attend a university should be a highly cherished privilege, and it should be an even greater honor to play athletics for the university. Therefore, the writer supports the decision that the “student” comes before “athlete” in student-athlete. Playing for pay should be considered a job for “professionals”. In the rulebook, the NCAA views college athletes as armatures. This statement sums it up best. When athletes go to college, not all of them go in with the mindset that athletics is going to be their future job....
Some Athletes in society today are considered heroes despite their double lives. Their drug use and violence are brushed aside while leading their teams to victory.
Mitchell, Horrace. "Students Are Not Professional Athletes." News Opinion, 06 Jan 2014. Web. 8 Apr 2014
Mitten, Matthew J., James L. Musselman, and Bruce W. Burton. "Targeted Reform of Commercialized Intercollegiate Athletics." San Diego Law Review 47.3 (2010): 779-844. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
We judge people we watch on television and social media. Though we don’t personally know them, we still judge them based on the small portion of their lives we see. This is evident in sports and entertainment, where people shape their opinions on players and actors based on their persona on the field, court or big screen. We are only experiencing a segment of that person's life, judging them on what they do for a few hours. You can’t form an accurate view point on somebody from watching them on television for a few hours a week. When Athletes step out onto the court their attitude changes, they get into a mindset of doing anything to win. While their character on the court may seem contentious, their character off the court is entirely different. An athlete can be a pleasant person off the court, but malicious on the court. Meanwhile they are being judged by their public image, which may not reflect accurately on who they actually
Taylor Branch argues that big time college sports are fully commercialized. Corporations offer large sums of money to universities so they can profit from the talent of college athletes. Branch believes that the NCAA imposes amateurism on its athletes for their own selfish gain. Branch calls into question two of the NCAA’s most noble principles on which it justifies its entire existence. The first being amateurism and the second being student-athlete. He believes that both are nothing but “cynical hoaxes” and just legal terms created by the universities so they can exploit the skills and fame of young athletes. The NCAA’s moral authority lies in its justification to protect what it calls the “student-athlete.” The term is meant to represent the amateurism of college sports, and the precedence of
In the area of collegiate sports, there have been numerous heated debates about the integrity of many things concerning the NCAA and how it handles legal and ethical issues. Two well renowned scholars tackle this issue in their co-authored book entitled
...ing violent crimes today, reaching from drug abuse, and stress to deep psychological issues , and although many sports organizations are setting up workshops an counselors to talk to the athletes about drug abuse and domestic violence issues, the responsibility lies within the athlete themselves to make a change for the better and get rid of the negative perceptions associated with today's athletes .
Coakley, J. J. (2007). Sports in society: issues & controversies (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
In the sports world, as much as in the political, social or corporate world, ethics is put to the test at all times. Most athletes spend their career trying to overcome many barriers in order to gain notoriety and achieve good results with the objective of winning titles and, especially, to have great future opportunities, as for example, being awarded with an athletic scholarship.
Forbes, 30 January 2014. Web. 29 April 2014. Gutting, Gary. “The Myth of the ‘Student-Athlete’.”
Everyone is aware of the role that these athletes have to do. We should not look at the inappropriate actions of few athletes. The. I was biased to believing that all athletes are bad before I started. doing my research for this paper.
Athlets have been lookd up to as role models for as long as sports have exsted. There is just something attractive about the thought of being in good physical condition and being talented in sports. But, are athlets the kind of people that children should be looking up to for direction and guidance? Many children often look up to the professional athletes as role models. In fact, in 1995 Sports Illustrated for Kids did a survey for kids who were ages 7 through 12 about who their role model was. The majority of the kids answered that a professional athlete was who they most looked up to. Only four percent of the children answered that their role model was one of thir parents. Because of today?s media, athletes are constantly in the public eye. Everything they do on and off of the playing field. Some professional athletes speak a positive message through their fame by demonstrating constructive ideas such as teamwork and commitment while they are on the field. Even off of the playing field some athletes set a good example by visiting children in schools, going to hospitals, or even setting up foundations and organizations to help the ill and less fortunate people. However, other athletes are not as considerate to the fact that someone may be looking up to them, some athletes are not concerned about anything other than the sport they are getting paid to play and themselves. These athletes are the ones that propose questions over whether athletes should be considered role models or not. A role model can be defined as a person whose behavior, example or success is or can be emulated by others, especially young people. Who would want their child looking up to someone who has been convicted of domestic violence or has a drug addiction? It is an argument of opinion that cannot be settled.