Professional Athletes as Role Models

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Professional Athletes as Role Models In recent years, professional athletes have been held up as role models to young children more so than in the past, due to the instant availability of information. With the advent of cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., any professional sports figure who is already in the spotlight due to their outstanding athletic ability, suddenly becomes singled out for any mistake no matter how big or small. Professional athletes have always had separate lives on and off the field; it’s just that in the past, their private lives were more private. In the past, many professional athletes had bad reputations off the field for being drinkers, gamblers, or for cheating on their wives. It just wasn’t as talked about then as it is now because very few people actually witnessed the bad behavior. Professional athletes should be held to a higher standard of conduct while in the public eye due to the impact they have on children. Professional athletes get paid a tremendous amount of money to perform well in their sport. With this high salary also comes the responsibility of upholding the integrity of the game. They do this in a positive way when they show good sportsmanship. Professional athletes know it is wrong to lose their temper and throw or damage things, yell at referees or umpires, or even fight with other players. Most of the time, they are able to control themselves because they know how important it is, both to the game and to their reputation. The fans that pay money to come see these players come to see a good athletic performance, not to see an athlete throw a spoiled brat fit. Everything an athlete does on or off the field or playing arena is judged by the viewing public, and this includes children. Children do not attend sporting events by themselves; they are brought there by an adult. Professional sports are

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