Athletes On Pedestals

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Alexis Waterman English 112 Dr. Jones April 16, 2014 awaterman8583@g.fmarion.edu Moller, William. “We, the Public, Place the Best Athletes on Pedestals.” They Say, I Say 545-552. “We, the Public, Place the Best Athletes on Pedestals” According to William Moller in his essay “We, the Public, Place the Best Athletes on Pedestals,” this article addresses the problem of the use of steroids in professional sports. The main idea of the article is not exactly about steroids. It is the idea that the public puts athletes on such high pedestals that it causes them to do things such as use steroids so that they can live up to our expectations. Moller appears to be defending the athletes and their use of steroids. He sort of blames the public…show more content…
And assume we have imperfect knowledge of what's really going on behind the scenes. When an individual is constantly in the spotlight and making a lot of money, one might start to feel entitled. I admit that I have become weary and dated in my belief that sports stars should be nowhere near pedestals let alone on them. I give into the cypher that it’s become part of our society, and admittedly it disturbs me that we continue to participate in a false praise. Very few of the athletes have done anything worthy of giving them praise. In my day that’s a line I never thought I would use; athletes were just people with incredible talent and they were thankful for being paid for that talent. Today, they ask for millions of dollars which, by the way, comes from the fans directly through ticket sales or indirectly through television rights or merchandise sales. To be fair, many of these athletes don’t portray themselves to be role models, and then others who want to be shouldn’t…show more content…
In Woods’ first press conference after he admitted to adultery, he confessed to having the feeling of entitlement, and that he felt he could do whatever he wanted with no repercussions. That’s why it’s society’s fault that these athletes feel this way. As a sports fan, I really do think our professional athletes should be making better choices when it comes to off the field matters. To everyone quick to judge others, remember that behind the fame and fortune, these athletes are human just like us. Think about it, as if you were in A-Rod's position and you were offered the same choices, what would you do? And assume we have imperfect knowledge of what's really going on behind the scenes. Would you do the same not thinking about the consequences later? Not everybody is perfect, so why be so quick to judge. You never know the real story to why someone is doing something until you are placed in their shoes. It is not right, but at the same time people are going to do what they have to do to get where they want or need to
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