Essay on Professional Athletes as Role Models - 2324 Words

Are Todays Professional Athletes Good Role Models? Everyday todays youth are asked what they want to be when they grow up. Some say teachers, firemen, police officers and a large response to that question is a professional athlete. Something that all these professions have in common is that they are all role models to children. Firemen, teachers, police officers have an easy job at doing this; they are after all the people that save children, teach children and protect children. But professional athletes on the other hand have a difficult task assigned to them when it comes to being role models. Professional athletes are not given an option as to be a role model or not. Just because they have a special gift does not make them have†¦show more content†¦If she were to give a percentage of athletes who do this it could be more valid. After looking through all the research I have done I have found more high-profile players who have done time in jail than have done for a charity. For instance, Kobe Bryant was recently on tria l for the rape of a young girl in Colorado. Mike Tyson was in jail for physically harming is wife, not to mention biting the ear off of Evander Holyfield. Leon Lett of the Dallas Cowboys was put to jail for selling cocaine. All these professional athletes are people that kids know. They dont know the guys who are spending their free time helping a charity. Athletes should not be role models because of the things they do off the court or field. They do way too many bad things that youth hear about which might make them want to follow the same path. According to Gary Sailes in his essay Professional Athletes: Cultural Icons or Social Anomalies: 16 players from the 2001 Super Bowl were involved in a crime one way or another. Those crimes range from drunk driving to assault to murder threats. These are things that everyone hears about. A child may not be a fan of a football but sooner or later he/she is going to turn the TV and notice a player going to jail. If athletes are supposed t o be role models, going to jail is not a good thing. Society cant say professional athletes should be roleShow MoreRelatedEssay on Athletes can be decent role models1025 Words   |  5 PagesSince professional sports were first introduced, players have been viewed as role models. Recently the question has been raised as to whether or not this is a proper thing for them to be. Michael Vick tortured and murdered dogs, Barry Bonds cheated his way to stardom, and countless others are just no-good, pampered divas. There are some that shine out through the mess of egotism and are devoted athletes who give back to the community. 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