Role Models in Sports

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In the article “Athletes and Role Models” written by Larry Elder, professional athletes are shown why they don’t make very good role models. Elder shows facts that prove that in the NFL in 1996/97, 21% of the players competed with criminal records, up to and including allegations of rape and assault. There isn’t a lot different with NBA players. One of the NBA’s top agents said that there might be more kids out of wedlock than there are players in the NBA. He says he spends more time dealing with paternity claims than he does negotiating contracts. And how is this for a role model. Former New York Yankee relief pitcher Steve Howe, a drug addict, relapsed not one, not two, but seven times, yet the Yankees kept him on the team. Now that isn’t exactly someone I’d want my kids looking up to. I agree with Elder some, but also disagree with him a little as well. He states that, “the type of person it takes to succeed in sports, especially violent sports like football, makes athletes a tough sell as a role model.” What makes football players successful is the fact that some of them are a little crazy. Most football players have field anger, the want to take risks, and limited impulse control, not exactly someone you want living next door. I don’t agree with one of the statements that Andrew Miracle, an anthropologist from TCU, said. “Generally involvement in any extracurricular activity is a good thing, but sports are no better than band or chorus. The danger is the ‘win at any cost’ attitude becomes so significant that the potential positive benefits are overwhelmed.” Not every person who participates in a sport is a bad person. There are good role-models, the guys that can control there anger and stay out of bad situations. Players have that ‘win at any cost’, but stay out of trouble and are great role models. I don’t think you can change they way these adults act.

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