The Controversy Over The Use Of Athletes As Role Models

In today’s world there are usually two people, athletes and non-athletes. Now out of the millions of sub-categories of humans; whether it be race or gender or preference or nationality, it all comes down to two types of people, those who play sports and those who watch. For those who play there is a whole lot of effort, and little reward. People say, “why can playing for a big-name school not be enough?” or, “You have a scholarship, quite asking for more”. Those who watch, think to themselves, those players probably have the highlife, flying in jets, and being paid money out of pocket. When they could not be further from the truth. For their extra work, and

In today’s society, NFL players and hockey player are the inspiration in the lives of today’s youth. Little boys strive to be the best they can be in football and hockey, because their dream is to one day become a professional athlete. Young boys focus on sports like football and hockey, because they are two of the most populist sports in America. Many young children want to play professional sports for the fame. Some want to be a professional athlete because of all the money they can make each year. They also want to make money to make a better life for themselves and their families. Most children

Sports are not for everybody, not only because of talent level, but because a certain mindset is to be had to be successful at any sport. A commitment is made. Forty hours of practice a week, the average amount of time spent practicing for football players, all for a one hour game, the average time of one game of college football, takes dedication. That is not even counting the time spent icing, resting, and studying the playbook or film, not to mention the school work to be kept up with for college and high school students. Most athletes have become used to the grind and juggling three or four time consuming activities all at one time while being successful at each. Waking up at the break of dawn, following a schedule, and suffering consequences when a bad choice is made creates character and discipline that is often needed for many little league, high school, and college athletes. The most important non tangible thing sports teach anyone is how to get back up after falling, how to get knocked down but get right back up and keep going, how to move on from failure and overcome it, focusing on the next important part of life. These skills of determination and courage taught through sports are essential for being successful in any part of life and are hard to come by anywhere

A typical athlete story can now be known as a riches to rags story. Though there are positive and there are also negatives effects to this. Star athletes make so much money that it makes people sick, meanwhile it is also sickening our athletes mentally. The professional sporting world is now turning into a money-hungry occupation. Along with this hunger for cash comes a solid incentive for productivity.

Everyday today's youth are asked what they want to be when they grow up. Some say teachers, firemen, police officers and a large response to that question is a professional athlete. Something that all these professions have in common is that they are all role models to children. Firemen, teachers, police officers have an easy job at doing this; they are after all the people that save children, teach children and protect children. But professional athletes on the other hand have a difficult task assigned to them when it comes to being role models. Professional athletes are not given an option as to be a role model or not. Just because they have a special gift does not make them have

Although athletes do crazy thing they are looked up to because of their skill at their profession. they have made it to the pros by outstanding performance. these people

I do think professional athletes are role models. Professional athletes are always being watched. Win they do awesome stuff on the field fans grow more people watch what they are doing. We know the athletes we watch are not perfect. They do have that responsibility of being a role model because they chose to become professional athletes. So they shouldn’t be doing bad things. This doesn't mean athletes have to do everything right but they just don’t need to get involved with assault and illegal things. Younger people look up to athletes because they are cool and do some pretty amazing things. When I was a younger I looked up to some athletes wanting to be like them. I think they should still be seen as role models even when some do bad things

     From personal experience, a football player I knew said “I decided I was going to take steroids to get big and strong and aggressive. I didn’t care if I died, as long as I completed the season-just as long as I finished like a man.” This football player was so dedicated to being the best that he could be. He did not even care if he lost his own life. In recent years sports have become a huge industry. Just this year Alex Rodreguez signed a ten year two hundred and fifty million dollar contract with the Texas Rangers. This is the biggest contract in sports history. A gold medal in the Olympics can mean millions of dollars to athletes, coaches, managers, sponsors, and even countries. It is no wonder more and more people are striving to be the best, and will do whatever it takes to get there. When it comes to making money and a lot of it people will do just about anything.

So many athletes become celebrities because of their reputation, things that do positively or negatively, fame and public attention in the media. Celebrity status is often associated with wealth and also fame because it can often provide opportunities to make money. Many athletes

Many people around the world view sports stars like David Beckham and Derek Jeter as role models. However, a sports star does not follow the definition of a role model. The path that they use to reach their stardom is not always ethical. It is also excessive to call the pressure they are under “unfair.” Sports stars do not represent the definition of a role model; therefore, they should not be considered as role models.

Although some people believe professional athletes shouldn’t be viewed as role models, there are various athletes who set a great precedent for the youth.

I believe that professional athletes should always have good behavior. Both on and off the field, they should be respectful and classy. These people are looked up to by audiences of all ages, from young kids to grown ups. If they behave in a bad manner, it can teach people to act like them and damage the face of a sport. Professional athletes not only have to know the game they play, but also how to react to situations on the field, off the field, and to the media.

Because sports news and sports figures are constantly in the news, sports reflect our values. We are living in a society that is filled with violence. Many adults choose to solve their problems in violent ways. When the stress of life becomes too much, or

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

In Siddharth Kalla’s article “Regression Toward the Mean,” he discusses a frequent trend within Olympic athletes who have been awarded gold medals and continue to compete. “Olympic gold medalists tend to have a dip in performance...this is because they were the ones hitting their peak in performance in the Olympics and therefore also gets much attention afterward, because people expect more from these athletes” (Kalla). After an athlete has already attained the highest award in their Olympic sport, it is seldom that they could repeat their success