Are_Athletes_Role_Models_

Are Athletes Role Models' Are Athletes Role Models' Lately, a topic of great controversy has been whether or not athletes should be looked upon as role models by their fans. Does an athletes’ responsibilities pertain solely to his performance on the field of play or does it also extend to his personal life as well' There are many who claim that it is wrong for a sophisticated society to impose a set of behavioral expectations on fallible people who just so happen to excel in sports. Some players themselves agree with the fact that they do not and don’t expect to be considered role models, such as stated at a press conference by Charles Barkley (www.yaleherald.com/archive/xx/9.8.95/sports/mantle.html). It is my argument that athletes are not only role models but, in today’s media driven world, it is their responsibility to exhibit extraordinary judgment and exemplary actions off the field as well. From the beginning of time, man has looked outside of himself for examples of strength, leadership, and guidance. For heroes. Perhaps it is an acknowledgement of a human flaw. Even the mythological gods possessed powers beyond those of mortal men. Legends are told of men with superhuman strength, endurance, and wisdom. So why would it sports, human, one, great, role, people, models, heroes, because, of, part, hero, game, children, black, athletes, while, time, themselves, strength, rickey, public, media, looked, look, lives, figures, field, fact, even, considered, baseball, world, robinson, reporting, power, player, play, personal, off, natural, mortal, mike, men, joe, jackson, jackie, going, first