Positive Effects of Athletes as Role Models
"An athlete with undying will, tremendous courage, awesome defense, and unbelievable scoring. Michael Jordan, a man who seems to be without a weakness, makes a great role model for youths and adults ("Role Models on"). Michael Jordan shows he is also a great person off the court by the way he has given his money to charities and has dealt with the difficulties in his life. This is a person who is looked up to and admired by people everywhere. Michael Jordan is a role model, just as all athletes in the spotlight. When people become professional athletes or any kind of athlete that is brought into the public eye, they become a role model. A role model can set good examples by being educated, having good morals, and by staying drug free; or they can set bad examples by doing the complete opposites of these actions.
As role models it is important that athletes show the youth of today the importance of getting an education. It seems that high school and college basketball players have not been doing a very good job of setting this example.
A record 37 underclassmen, plus three high school students, made themselves available for the recent National Basketball Association draft, adding to the growing concern of many that more and more young men, particularly black men, will abandon educational pursuits for hoop dreams. (Farrell 15)
When younger kids see these players pass up their education for the attempt to get rich quick it sends the message that education isn't that important. John Thompson says, " One of the dangers of what is going on is that it minimizes the value of an education" (Farrell15). There is a very small few of amateur basketball players that make it to the NBA, and t...
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...d other athletes that are in the spotlight can not expect to be watched by millions of people and not have some influence on those people watching. The athletes must realize that when they make mistakes people will be watching. " Everyone does make mistakes, and along with those mistakes, one must take responsibility for the consequences that come after a mistake has been made" (Athletes Are). They probably wish the people just saw that good things they did, but if this was the case we would be living in a utopia. As role models athletes can do many positive things such as educating our youth by letting them know the importance of going to school. They can help instill good moral standards for kids to live by, and prevent them from getting involved with drugs like the program Athletes Against Drugs does. These are what the athletes should be doing as role models.
In the last ten years many young and talented high school basketball players have chosen to enter the NBA draft. These 17 and 18 year olds decide to skip college, and instead they choose to take a big risk and enter the NBA, hoping to become stars and earn millions of dollars. In many cases, these youngsters’ careers are a failure because they don’t turn out as talented as they thought to be. They end up spending only a few seasons in the NBA because they are not good enough to compete at that level. Many of them have to move on to doing other things, such as playing basketball overseas, doing everyday jobs, or going back to college to earn a degree.
In the collegiate world of sports, basketball has become an increasingly recognized sport among African Americans, predominantly males. The hope of any young basketball player is that one day a scout will come and recruit them into stardom The question that presents itself as a problem to the lucky few who are chosen to go professional, is whether or not an education is more important than a million dollar shoe deal, “The NCAA's (1998) annual six-year study reported that only 33% of Black male basketball players graduated, (Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999). Individually, basketball reported the lowest graduation rate in all divisions,” (Robinson, 2004:1). Basketball players have become so idolized in the eyes of young Black male basketball athletes, that the value of education appear to be less important in the development of these young men, “According to Sailes (1997), there is an over-representation of Black males in particular sports and an under-representation in other segments of American society. He provides the example of percentages of Black males competing in the NBA (77%), NFL (65%), MLB (15%), and MLS (16%) in comparison to the fact that fewer than 2% of doctors, lawyers, architects, college professors, or business executives are Black males.”, (Robinson, 2004:1). The idea of the attainment of a professional basketball player’s salary in the NBA, without even having to go to school for the time it takes to earn a degree is very appealing to some players. Those with a wealthy, or even upper-middle class upbringing may not view material assets as a priority. In the Black community, we have theorized that money and success play a more important role than education in most households. Although these two seem to go together, one resulting from the other, this does not apply in the sports world. Our research will examine the role that the family value system plays in influencing Black vs. White male athletes to turn professional, as opposed to obtaining a college degree before turning professional.
Did you know that there are roughly 550,000 male high school basketball players, 15,000 are good enough to make it to play college basketball, one third of that or 5,000 play well enough to make it to division I which is the highest in the NCAA basketball league, and only around 348 go on to play one game in the NBA. On the other hand there are rare cases of players having extraordinary talents and making the jump from high school basketball straight to NBA without any college experience. The debate on this topic is two sided, the first being that the jump from high school to the NBA should not be allowed and the second being that they should be able to do what they want.
Major collegiate athletics programs are able to generate millions of dollars for their institutions, but are not able to show any evidence of successfully graduating their black male athletes that contribute to their success in generating those millions of dollars. These universities in turn, are failing these student athletes whom were promised that they would nurture them intellectually as well as athletically. A four year report published by the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education presents statistics that shows that the six major sports conferences in the NCAA (ACC, Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, SEC, Pac 12) have weak graduation rates for male African American Student athletes. Jessica Anderson of the associated press wrote an article titled, Black Athletes' Graduation Rates Weak where she used evidence from the University of Pennsylvania’s study as well as information from The Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education to present findings that showed that only about, “50.2 percent of African-American male student-athletes graduated within six years and that 96.1 percent of the schools graduated African-American male student-athletes at rates lower than student-athletes overall” (Anderson). Yet, the evidence that African American male student athletes are struggling to graduate as compared to their white counterparts does not simply stop there. In fact, Shaun Harper the executive director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania reports that, “50.2 percent of black male athletes graduate within six years from colleges compared with 67 percent of athletes over all, 73 percent of undergraduates, and 56 percent of black undergraduate men” (Harper)....
“African Americans have just as amount of chance of becoming a professional athlete as he or she winning the lottery”. This so called goal of theirs is unrealistic and is highly impossible. There are so many sports athletes but majority of them are of a different c...
College basketball has gone from amateur competition to multi-million dollar tournaments and will continue to get larger and larger. The student-athlete is no longer a student and has become more and more of an athlete. Admissions are loosened and deals are made in order to get the best basketball players in the land. Athletes who are not students are criticized when they leave for the pros even though they are probably doing the right thing by not perpetuating the myth of academics and athletics. College basketball has become a multi-million dollar industry whether schools will admit it or not and the student athlete is the one getting played.
The early age entry rule, has been blamed for taking away the talent that made NCAA basketball popular over the last 40 years (Hughes, 2013). Recently many of the most talented basketball players have entered the NCAA with no intention of playing a second, third, or fourth year. The NBA permits players to be drafted at an age that many have considered is too young to live the lavish lifestyle of a professional player. This has been cause for the big debate of should the NBA change the eligibility to 20 years of age and two years removed from high school.
“No one blows through money faster than millionaires with nothing to do.” -Unknown. This is true regarding the experiences of millionaires, but is it true with professional sports players? With athletes not finishing college, they don’t get the opportunities they would if they received full education. Arguably, the most educated player in the MLB is Craig Breslow on the Boston Red Sox. He was accepted into medical school before becoming a professional athlete. He had a major in biophysics and biochemistry, which he earned at Yale University. He was asked the question, “Where would you be if you weren’t a professional athlete?” Breslow replied saying he would be graduating medical school or hopefully have already graduated. Professional athletes should finish college before going pro because it secures their future. It teaches the younger generation maturity and the value of knowledge.
Parents and teachers have preached that getting an education is important since students first entered Kindergarten. Although there is proof that athletes have endured success from both pathways, academics and athletics, it’s the financially safe and most logical choice for a student athlete to solidify his or her future after athletics. Becoming a professional athlete is a high-risk high reward situation but receiving a college education lowers that risk. A college education could potentially increase the knowledge further to enhance their athletic abilities intellectually also (Clary Dec. 13, 2009). Most of the time if the athlete is good enough to go pro it’s likely that they have athletic full–ride scholarships from major college programs. With college expenses the way they are today one might argue that this is a better deal especially if the chance of going pro remains after the athlete graduates from college. After retiring from...
College athletes comprise the unique part of the college community but their problems often remain underestimated since their success in their sports overshadows difficulties, which they may and do confront in terms of their integration into the college community. In this regard, the social background of college athletes is one of the major challenges for their successful integration because they are from low-income families mainly and a large part of college athletes represents minorities, such as African Americans. As a result, the social background of college athletes is substantially different from that of the majority of college students, who are predominantly white and middle-class. At this point, it is possible to refer to the book Backboard and Blackboards by Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler, where the author explore issues that college students confront at college. The authors reveal numerous difficulties and challenges college athletes may confront at college and suggest their explanation of those difficulties. However, the book makes obvious the gap that persists between college athletes and the rest of the college community because of the different social background of college athletes, their different interests and priorities, which make them not only different from other students but also contribute to certain marginalization of college students within their college communities.
There is never enough of anything in the life of a college student. there is never enough time to study, or enough food, or enough money, or enough time to sleep. But, if that student becomes a college athlete then all of the “or’s” change to “and’s”. Even though there are many struggles of a college athlete they are not going away. As the youth of America watches their older counterparts excel in many college sports, a dream to become an athlete at the collegiate level is sparked. This dream is fueled through high school sports and then disseminated by high school counselors. Counselors who are quick to remind that sports do not bring home a paycheck. Neverless, this dream of college sports thrives and is present in the mind of every high
“The odds of a high school basketball player making it to the “next level” to play college basketball (DI, II, or III) is slim. In fact, only 3.4% of high school players go on to play college basketball. Taking it even further, only 1.2% of college basketball players go on to get drafted in the NBA” (Winters, 2016). There are two types of players in the game. There are the kids who play basketball because they are athletic, and all they are seeking to gain is the recognition and awards. They want to be known. Those players are self-centered, they do not play for the team, and generally don’t play because they love the game. These are the types of players who don’t usually go on to play at the next level. On the other hand, there are the players that absolutely dedicate their life to the game of basketball just because they love the game. That is what coaches are looking for in a player, and that is the kind of player I am striving to be.
Many still seem to believe a “free” education is more than enough, when in reality, not many players are actually given a free education. While every student has the potential to earn financial aid and academic scholarship money, athletes are also capable of receiving athletic money. A majority of athletes today are either playing without an athletic scholarship or a partial scholarship, in addition to other grants and academic subsidies. To non-athletes, this may seem unfair, but look at the big picture. These athletes are spending much of their time in the gym, on the practice field, and even in the trainer’s room dealing with injuries on a daily basis. It is extremely difficult to manage school, athletics, and life itself at once let alone finding the time to earn money working at the same time. When trying to juggle a packed schedule, it is easy to forget important things or at the very least ones effectiveness is hindered thus weaken the ability to be successful. There is also a great deal of stress and anxiety that comes with the game. In fact, there is a field of psychology specifically designed for athletes and their mental privation. The mental ailments and lack of free time definitely prohibit athletes from being as successful as they can academically. Conversely, non-athletes have much more time available allowing them to study and work at a younger age. Although athletic scholarships certainly assist these athletes in attending schools with inflated tuition fees, it is by no means enough for many collegiate athletes.
A lot of Athletes are model citizens that you should really look up to, but there are. also some bad apples in the bunch that ruin it for everyone. Athletes can inspire young people to work hard so that their efforts can pay off, but no one. is pure and flawless. Greed does take a hold of some players, but they do. shouldn't be the ones we devote all of our attention to.
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.