why athletes are good role models

WHY ATLETES ARE GOOD ROLE MODELS! Ever
since the ancient years, we have admired athletes and the hard work that
they do to achieve their goal of winning. We idolize them and wish we
were more like them. What happens though when the realization sinks
in that they are human too and that some of them do get greedy and
selfish? 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 shouldn't be the ones we devote all of our
attention to. We should look at the positive things that people do. The
media does not go around reporting all of the good things that these
people do, just the bad things and their mistakes. They are only human
just like the rest of us. Are these people safe for our children to idolize
to look up to? I think that the answer is YES! If you were watching the
news, would you really want to hear about all of the charities that an
athlete has donated money to? It would be interesting at first, but you
would get tired of it afterwards. That is why the media never covers
anything like this. We all know that they really don't care about anything
else except for a hot topic. The truth really does not mean anything to
them. This we notice in all the cases that the media jumps to wrongful
conclusions, such as the Richard Jewel case and the Olympic bombing
and the TWA flight 800 that blew up over New York. The media jumped
to numerous conclusions that had us lost. Do you think these people
worry about what fund raiser Michael Jordan attended and about what
Shaquille O'Neal did on Thanksgiving for the needy? No. They are more
interested in what color Dennis Rodman's hair is and what he wore last
night at Excalibur. I had to go through days of research to find out that
Chicago Bears star Chris Zorich has started a full scholarship at Notre
Dame for inner city youths that get accepted to the school, but can't
afford it. He plays for our city's football team, and we have not heard of

any of his philanthropic efforts. He also has an annual food drive for the
needy around Thanksgiving. I read about that in a little column in the
newspaper. Would he have been accused of theft or assault, he would
have had a front page article and the whole back page of the Chicago
Sun- Times to himself. Shaquille O'Neal bought over 1,000 turkeys and
gave to needy families all across the nation on Thanksgiving. I did not
hear one mention of that in the news. They are making us believe that all
athletes are bad people with their propaganda. If they spent half the time
covering the good-hearted stories that they do the bad ones, we would
have a different opinion on the hard working athlete. Michael Jordan
has started a foundation that donates money for research to help
physically challenged children. He has been running up the tabs at
Atlantic City casinos, but who hasn't gambled? We are not perfect.
Michael may gamble, but he does his share of helping and works hard for
what he has acquired. Gambling is no crime, so then he is not showing
us a negative thing. If parents disapprove of him gambling, then they
should outlaw it because he is not doing anything wrong. Michael, and
other athletes as well, is aware that he is constantly being watched by
millions and tries to act accordingly. There has been a major
controversy in the NBA lately thanks to Charles Barkley and his claim in
an interview that he is not a role model, but that is the job of the parent.
He says that parents shouldn't be blaming the athletes if they can't control
their own children. Another person that agrees with this notion is football
and basketball star Deion Sanders. Barkley has paid over $80,000 in
fines over a period of two years. He is known for getting very aggressive
and violent at times. No one is asking Barkley to give all his money away
to charity, but to do what other stars do, realize that all these people look
up to you and show some restraint. Nobody is forcing athletes to be good
people, we just want some of them to use better judgement. One person
that honestly thinks that ball players do serve a role as models for the

kids and should live up to it is Vincent Lamont Baker of the Milwaukee
Bucks. He is the best all round player on the team and one of the most
versatile in the league. He is said to be the symbol of what the NBA is
really trying to sell: "good players who are even better people." An
excellent role model for black youth is Dave Bing. He was elected into
the NBA Hall of Fame in 1989 and is now the CEO of Bing Steel, a firm
that had $61 million in sales in 1991and was ranked tenth in the United
States among black-owned industrial and service companies. He now
donates a lot of his time and money to various charities. Football
player Orlando Pace sits with 6th grade children in their school library and
helps them read. His message was "Yes, I have had some athletic ability
and talent, but studying is what's really important." He also said that he
doesn't think of himself as a role model, but he is doing the right thing
because he knows that there are people looking up to him and he wants
to show them something positive. I couldn't believe all of the things he
does for children and then says that he doesn't think of himself as a role
model. Most of these players are just doing their job. But he realizes that
people do look up to him and that is why he tries to set a good example.
If only all of the players would think that way, then there wouldn't be any
problem in the athletic league. The most influential player that I have
found is Mo Vaughn of the Red Sox. He does community service and
gives kids autographs. He has impressed everyone with his poise,
dedication, and his appetite for work. Vaughn takes the time to talk to
groups of schoolchildren, urging them to stay in school. Vaughn also
plans youth centers to keep kids off the streets and signs and sends
get-well cards. He also uses the proceeds from formal
autograph-signings to fund cultural events that are denied to poor
children. I wish I knew why I never heard about this on the news or read
about it. It would be different if Mo Vaughn got accused of something.
Arthur Ashe was just as influential. He was the only black man to win the

U.S. Open and Wimbledon. He protested apartheid and launched a $5
million fund-raising campaign and questioned the lack of government
funding for research of AIDS. It is hard to think that any athlete is
good with all of the headlines that you hear about today. The media just
covers the athletes that are acting like sports entertainment celebrities.
William Bennett, the Bush's administration drug czar, is enlisting pro
athletes to help him fight the war on drugs. He assumes that they are
held to higher standards of conduct than other people because they serve
as role models. Everyone is aware of the role that these athletes have.
We should not look at the inappropriate actions of few athletes. I was
biased to believing that all athletes are bad before I started doing my
research for this paper. Then I found all of the good things that
numerous players have done to help others. Just because they want to
help doesn't mean that we should expect them too because they are only
human. We should not have athletes as scapegoats if children are
resistant and defiant. Those are responsibilities of the parents. Just
because there are some bad people in sports today doesn't mean that we
should generalize. We have had some bad presidents also, but we don't
hate all of them. Some of them work hard to contribute something to us
just like professional athletes do. We just have ot remember that they are
human just like us and that Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman aren't
gods just because they have a lot of money. They worked hard for it so
let them enjoy it.