It's time for Part II of our RSS Roundtable. Where our 3 main contributors come together to talk about the biggest issues in the world of sports. Today, we continue our conversation about the importance of character in sports shifting our attention to athletes as role models in society, Big Ben, Dez Bryant, and much more. Here's Part IIWe've talked about these different morality and character standards with athletes and role models. So, then does it depend on sport, position, and other factors what we expect of our athletes and their character?
It'd be great and easy to say yeah, everyone should adhere to the same standards of excellence on and off the field. But the truth is that's only for fantasy land. Everything these days is situational.
It's fantasy that we should expect our athletes to be role models for the countless people that look up to them?
I don't agree with the whole role model athlete concept all together. It doesn't matter the sport, it is ludicrous.
Yohey, you looked up to athletes just like everyone else. You're telling me you wouldn't be disappointed if Bernie Kosar was taking 20 year old girls into bathroom bars? Granted he sounds drunk announcing Browns preseason games, but still...
Honestly, no. Because I don't have unrealistic expectations of other people. Aren't they human just like us?
How is it unrealistic to not expect your favorite athlete to NOT sleep around with 15 women or have 7 kids in 5 states?? They are human and deserve second chances, but they also need accountability to their fans, teams, sponsors, and the leagues they represent.
Sponsors yes. Sport yes. But fans? I'm not so sure. I'm sure Wilt Chamberlain was an idol of many kids, but we don't hear about him being shamed because of his records. How about people who have actually accomplished something that has meaning in the world to be role models?
It's fantasy to expect every athlete to follow the same guidelines. A star QB is going to face different responsibilities as the face of a franchise than the 4th string center on the Phoenix Coyotes. The same is true with the discipline each athlete faces. It's much easier to cut someone who's barely on the roster after a DUI than cut a $100 million franchise QB. Not to be preachy, but the problem is with society in general that we exalt these guys like we do. Kids should have parents or other people in their lives worthy of being role models. The days of your favorite athlete being a "role model" are long gone.
But we're the ones fooling ourselves if we think people don't look up to athletes as role models. The truth is that athletes are respected no matter how many hundreds of them are charged or arrested.
We should admire these athletes for their incredible talent and hard work, but realize their faults as well. But, as we heard with Tiger, there's becoming a sense of entitlement with athletes these days that they deserve all the spoils that come with being rich and famous. Just because we admire their ability and skill, that doesn't mean athletes should get a free pass to do whatever they want.
Along the same topic, Oklahoma St. WR Dez Bryant is reportedly being taken off of some team's draft boards because of - you guessed it - character issues. Thoughts?
His issues got him suspended for the season and cost his team, of course that will give some teams concerns.
A guy with bad character can ruin a team, put an entire franchise at risk, cough... Milton Bradley... cough. A team that screws up a draft pick doesn't get a mulligan, so I can understand not wanting to take the risk.
I think Bryant's gotten a bad rap. He made one mistake and has been placed with an X that you wonder if he'll ever be able to shake the character risk label. And, it's not like he's committed/accused of a crime or done something terrible like others we've talked about.
Agreed. Bryant has overcome a lot to get where he has, if anything it's Deion's fault!
If he produces, the issue is gone. That's the view that free agency has instilled, people no longer root for players or care about them - they root for a uniform.
So then why is the bad character tag a factor when talking about Dez Bryant when he hasn't even done anything? It seems a GIANT case of hypocrisy when compared to Woods and Roethlisberger.
The bad character tag is paramount in team sports because you have to trust your teammates.
To me they're separate issues. Scouts and GMs are trying to project Bryant's behavior at the next level, which is next to impossible. Meanwhile, we know the sins of Tiger, Big Ben and the like. I agree with Yohey that guys won't look at Big Ben the same anymore until he wins their trust back on and off the field - don't forget the concussion story last year.
For whatever reason, especially the NFL, character has become paramount to team success. Look at the Saints who have almost gone exclusively with good character guys and won a title. So in the end, we're saying that character and morality does mean something at least in team sports.
You can thank Lawrence Phillips and Ryan Leaf for that.
Of course it means something, it means something in all sports. Tiger was a role model for millions and represented million dollar corporations. Big Ben and other NFLers represent organizations and cities. Is it too much to ask for these guys to set a good example? No, but apparently the burden is too great for some.
And Tiger Woods is the most recognized athlete in the world... shouldn't character count for him too regardless of if he has any teammates?
Yes. We always remember the on-field first, but at some point we remember the man too. For instance, how long until you think of Ty Cobb as the racist fan-beater and stop remembering him as the greatest baseball player of the early 20th century? While we ultimately will remember Tiger first as the greatest golfer ever, eventually this messy chapter will play a big role in his legacy.
So in the end, should we view athletes as role models and expect good character in the post-Tiger world?
No. The age of innocence is gone in this 24/7 news and information world. There are no celebrity role models anymore. Back in the day, when we didn't know everything and there was separation between fans and players we could... not anymore. In the Twitter age, we know better.
We shouldn't view athletes as role models in the first place. If you base your drive and determination on a false image you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
To take a positive spin - it should raise the profile of the real good guys in sports like Kurt Warner just to name one. But I think there will always be seeds of doubt as to who these athletes really are.
I think if we can't expect our favorite athletes to be role models, then sports loses a lot of what makes it so great. If we watch sports and can't invest ourselves with the athletes themselves, then we're just watching some sort of fake sitcom.
I disagree. I invest myself with the team if anything. We root for the uniform and colors in the free agency age, not the persons.
I think that's a step too far as well. Sports has changed with the times. Just because guys are cheats or drunks off the field doesn't change the game itself. If Babe Ruth played today, TMZ or ESPN would follow him around 24/7 to find out all the dirt in his personal life. Instead, he played in a simpler time where athletes personal lives weren't under the microscope. But, nothing on the field has changed since them, it's just that athletes have a different place in our society and popular culture.
Is that the sports world we're in now? Where we can only trust the uniform and protect the shield?
Yep, and to think otherwise is naive.
Call me old fashioned (and probably naive), but for me there still has to be at least some mystique with athletes and a responsibility to be role models and recognize their position in society. I want my kid growing up wearing his favorite player's jersey without fear that he might be dealing drugs, having affairs, getting arrested, or whatever. I want my kid to think the guy he roots for on Sundays is one worth rooting for on and off the field.
Sure there'll be guys that come along and inspire us, but I think we'll have to stay detached from athletes in the post-Tiger world. Ironic, but that's the price we pay for more access to our athletes. We'll always be a forgiving society, but the time of placing athletes on pedestals as great human beings is over.
Athletes are now recognized as role models for what they do off the field (Drew Brees and his work in New Orleans as an example). That is how the role model concept should be built upon, but we have to keep in mind that they will make mistakes too.
Maybe we're in an age where real role models like Tony Dungy will have to really earn their place in society as crossover role models for things outside of their athletic fields.
Exactly. It won't be automatically bestowed on someone just because they throw touchdowns or hit long drives anymore. We have to be realistic that atheltes aren't mythical figures anymore - they are real people with real faults just like in real life. Some athletes are exceptional role models and some are really creeps. It's just that now we have the ability to distinguish the two like never before. In the end, maybe that's a good thing that has come out of the new age.
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