Who is Your Role Model?

Athletes have been viewed as role models from as early as the 20^th century, but what does that really mean? Were they better role models then than they are now, or do we just know more about their personal lives now? Do they really have that much influence over young athletes pursuing a sport? Should they even be role models? Do people even care?

The article, Survey Shows Perception of Athletes Has Changed in the Age of Increased Exposure, discussed the changing views of athletes as role models over the past few decades. In my American Sport in the 21^st Century class on February 10, 2015 we discussed sport and socialization with one of the five agents of socialization being mass media. How much has mass media exposed the private lives of athletes and how much has this had an effect on the changing view of athletes as role models? Years ago it didn’t seem to matter what an athlete did away from the game because people really didn’t know what they did. They had much more privacy than today’s athletes. Now it does matter what athletes do away from the game. The available media outlets today: the internet, twitter, facebook, and instagram all make it easy to inform people of an athlete’s poor decisions or criminal activity. If an athlete portrays a bad image of himself or herself, it will be far less likely for a young child or teen to be socialized into wanting to play the sport of that athlete. Even worse, it can influence the child to engage in similar negative behaviors.

The article also questioned whether people expect athletes to be role models as part of their job. In class we talked about athletes as role models and how a good role model should demonstrate qualities like good sportsmanship, honesty, high moral values, and determination. Before social media many players were looked at as having these traits so they were viewed as good role models. For example, the article pointed out that Mickey Mantle looked like a good role model to the public, but that was because we only saw his public life, not his private one. Mantle was an alcoholic. Does that seem like a good role model for a child? In American Sport class we also discussed whether it really was part of an athlete’s job to be a role model. So is it? Twenty years ago players like Charles Barkley indicated he wasn’t a role model because he wasn’t paid to be one. Today, whether an athlete wants to be viewed as one or not doesn’t matter, he or she often is one. The public is always judging athletes based on their actions. Look at some of the recent ones in the such as Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson. Do we admire these athletes? Do we want our children looking up to them? According to the Trib Total media’s survey in the article, the view of an athlete as a role model is declining, which I find disappointing.  You can thank social media for that; they expose the private lives of these athletes all the time. Are all of their mistakes really newsworthy? Are they not entitled to some privacy? They are, after all, human. Humans make mistakes. It is my hope, though, that in the future more players will become better role models for the sake of our children.

Clink here for a video about how role models influence our society:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxsPlgDLjtg

 Click here for a link to the article:

http://www.goerie.com/PZ-Survey-shows-perception-of-athletes-has-changed-in-the-age-of-increased-exposure-0215#