Athletes can be decent role models

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...

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...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. .