Do YOU think sports stars are required to be positive role models?

Question

I'm writing an oral about this topic and I'm honestly having trouble taking sides. On one hand, sports stars are a part of the spotlight whether they like it or not. That's just the way the media is these days. Publicity is unavoidable and children are bound to find out what their favourite sports stars have been up to. Kids are impressionable there's no doubt about it. From that point of view, players basically have no choice - they're under spotlight 24-7 they have to act professional 24-7 (which hardly seems fair).

On the other hand, many people seem to believe it's up to parents to make sure the actions of their kid's heroes don't rub off on children. It's up to the parents and teachers and people who interact with them in their daily life to be the role models and to tell the child that what stars do in their personal life is not always perfect or the right thing to do.

Which side do you take? To me both sides seem to have reasonable arguments.

Answer 1

I completely agree that both sides have legitimate arguments. It's got to be tough being a major athlete in this day and age because you simply can't mess up. We have seen, however, sports stars making mistakes and following them up with redeemable actions that would, in themselves, be considered examples of being a role model. So every athlete has a chance to redeem themselves. I do think every athlete realizes what is expected of them but at the same time, they are going to live their lives how they want to live them and we can't fault them for that.

Your point about parents is true but what about the inner city kid that may not have a father figure? He's going to look at these athletes and see them as role models. So, by knowing that (and you know these athletes do), they probably should be held to a higher standard of ethics.

I hope that helps out. Hey- if you don't mind would you mind checking out me and a friend's sports blog that we just started up? We're looking for readers and hopefully people that enjoy it.. It's in my profile you should take a look and maybe even RSS subscribe to it! :)

Edit: in fact this is a good idea for me to write on. expect to see this on my blog in the future!

Sign in to vote!