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Essay on Athletes can be decent role models

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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 …show more content…

The athleticism of an athlete is an important thing to take into account because it is the main objective of their career. It is also an acceptable way of measuring their dedication, because no matter how much natural skill they may have, it’s impossible to be successful in professional sports without thousands of hours of practice. It is important to notice that there is no one clear form of athleticism. It all depends on the sport and the position. For example, winner of the World’s Strongest Man competition, Brian Shaw, may not be able to sprint one hundred meters in under ten seconds but current one hundred meter world record holder Usain Bolt would not be able to dead lift eight hundred pounds. There is no one who could argue that Brian Shaw is out of shape even though he cannot compete in world class sprinting and there is no one that can argue that Usain Bolt is out of shape even though he cannot compete in world class weightlifting. An athlete needs to be able to dominate in their sport. This calls for them to be highly specialized for what they are going to do even if there are some sacrifices necessary. Athleticism is not just a measurement of how far one can jump or how fast one can run, but a measurement of to what level one can compete in their sport. The intellect of an athlete as well as how much an athlete values intellect is of comparable importance to their overall athleticism. It

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