Athletes as Role Models
In today’s society, athletes along with other celebrities
are put on a high pedestal. In our everyday lives we always hear the good, the
bad, and the ugly about professional and collegiate athletes. Children all over
the United States look up to these professional athletes and deem them their role
model. Athletes know that playing sports at these high levels of competition puts
them in the public eye, so shouldn’t they realize this and be a good role model?
On September 18th, in my American
Sport in the 21st Century class we discussed the characteristics
that make a good role model.
Characteristics that Define
a Good Role Model
ü Good decision making
ü Honesty
ü Commitment
ü Determination
ü High moral values
ü Good sportsmanship
ü Sense of humor
ü Fairness
ü Good self-image
ü Discipline
In our class
lecture, everyone in the class partnered up and spent five minutes making a
short list of the top 5 best and the top 5 worst athlete role models. We then
discussed some of the players on people’s lists. In our discussion some of the top 5 best role models were: Tim Tebow, Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, and Andre Agassi.
These athletes all possess some of the above traits. Some of the top 5
worst role models were: Mike Tyson, O.J.
Simpson, Chad Johnson, and Michael Vick. It was agreed that these
athletes have all committed their fair share of wrong/in-humane acts that have
made them a bad choice to look up to.
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2012/06/18/tim-tebow-athletes-need-to-come-together-and-be-great-role-models/
In this article Tim Tebow shares his words of
wisdom on the subject of whether or not athletes should be role models: “What’s so frustrating is, you have in today’s society so
many famous athletes,” he said. “If we would come together and be great role
models, it would be amazing to see how the next generation turns out.”
In my
opinion, athletes have a responsibility to be a good role model. I feel this
way because as a professional athlete it's common sense to know that you are in
the public spot light and everything you do, especially any bad, will make the
news. Athletes have a chance to make a major impact on society, particularly to
our youth, so it is important that they make a positive and inspiring impact. Also, I feel that pro athletes should be a
good role model so they can represent and respect their team because their organization
is the one who gave them the rare opportunity of being a professional athlete.
Professional athletes need to be good role models by portraying the listed characteristics
to set a good example for children, to positively impact society, and to also
represent their team/organization to the best of their ability.
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