Athletes are not Role Models

On February 11th, 2013 in class, we discussed sports and socialization, more specifically we talked about athletes as role models and what makes an athlete a good role model. Regardless if you think athletes are or aren't role models, that isn't going to change the fact that young people will always look up to athletes and try to be like them. In class, we determined that being a role model became a part of an athlete's job at the beginning of the 20th century. Also in class, as a group we discussed the question, if you impact someone's life, don't you have an obligation to be a role model?

As a class, we came up with a list of character qualities that make up a good role model and a list of the best and worst athlete role models.

Important character qualities in role models

Pat Tillman

• Honesty
• Commitment
• Sportsmanship
• Sense of humor
• Fairness 
• Determination 
• Good Self Image
• High Moral Values

Some examples of the best athlete role models include:  Pat Tillman, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Dwight Howard, and Cal Ripken Jr. 

Mike Tyson

Some examples of the worst athlete role models include:  Michael Vick, Mike Tyson, Jerry Sandusky, Mark McGuire, Pete Rose, Marion Jones, Terrell Owens, and Anna Kournokovia 

An article in the Yale Daily News written on January 23rd, 2014 by Jimin He, takes the stance on this issue against athletes being role models. The article firmly states that athletes are not, and should not, be considered role models. The article talks about Seattle  Seahawk's player, Richard Sherman, and his post-game comments after the NFC Championship game this year. The article says that we as a society have been trained to expect that Sherman should have been humble and given a cliche-heavy statement giving credit to his teammates and opponents. Athletes should not be role models because their job is to entertain us, and as entertainers, athletes should be able to express themselves how they please. When athletes show too much passion beyond normal, we as a society consider it unacceptable, according to the article. By treating athletes as role models, we have unrealistic expectations on how they should behave. Athletes have a lot on their "plate." Practice, press conferences, travel, games, etc. are just a few things that athletes do on a daily basis. When the primary goal for an athlete is to entertain the public, it is tough for them to also be a positive role model for children all the time.

Connecting to the text, Jay Coakley discusses how athletes learn to become heroes on page 112 of his book, Sports in Society:  Issues and Controversies. Coakley mentions a study in the text done by sociologists Patti and Peter Adler where the findings show that young men that are part of high profile sports teams become deeply engulfed by their role as an athlete. Everybody that they meet reinforced their identities as athletes. In the study, the Adlers found that the young men would set goals, focused on specific tasks, and make sacrifices to succeed in their sport, but there was zero evidence that these athletes applied these lessons to other aspects of their lives. This shows that athletes focus on their sport, not on being a role model for children.