Professional athletes are well-known for their athletic ability and outstanding skill in their respective sports. The become famous because of this skill alone, not what they do in their personal life. So why is it that the greater amount of athletes are held to such high esteem and seen as role-models in the view of the public? These athletes are spotlighted in the media when their moral character is negatively exposed and are said to have failed in their role as role models, specially to the young athletes who look up to them. I believe that professional athletes should be respected for what made them professional, and that is their activity in their sports alone. The media plays a large role in showing athletes as morally bankrupt when they are involved with the law but should really report on what the athletes do on the field, court or track. The athletes are normal people along with the rest of us and are not, in general, any higher morally than the average population. So when athletes such as Michael Vick are arrested for dog-fighting and are widely exposed on the news, fans and general populations hate the man for what he did and refuse to respect what he had been doing for the NFL in years prior. He was a dynamic quarterback, able to pass the ball down field and also dodge would-be tacklers when we ran. I am not excusing his participation in illegal activities, but I am questioning the reasons he was held to high regard in all aspects of his life, on and off the field. Why are these athletes' lives held on a pedestal when they are an average person like I, save the athletic superiority?
Stephen Graham
008613642
T-Th 9:30-10:45
4 comments:
If an athlete is competing on a national scale its almost impossible to avoid media pressure and exposure. I do agree with your views on athletes. Most struggle with keeping their professional life and personal life separate. It seems like almost every week there is a new scandal involving athletes and the law. Even though it may be unfair to judge them based on their moral choices they do have to take some responsibility because they know they're being viewed on a national scale.
Tillman Hubbard
Tu Th 930-1050
KIN 332I-05
When an athlete goes professional, he is not only representing themselves but for the team they are playing for. I understand where you are coming from and agree with you. At the same time, many young kids are following these athletes and want to learn the way they are off the field so they can replicate the athletes performance and attitude. Many young athletes who follow professional athletes don't only want to be what they are on the field but of the fields also with all the benefits that come with that. In my opinion, when I see a young athlete and ask who is favorite athlete is, usually his attitude and morals match the athlete that he chooses. to this point, many parents want to make sure the athletic life is good for their child. Those young athletes are our future professional athletes.
Luis Palafox
Tu Th 2:00-3:15
KIN 332I
Athletes are celebrities, and when you are in the limelight it is almost impossible to only have one aspect of your life focused on. I agree with you when you say that athletes gain the status and prestige that they have based on their skill, but when they reach the professional level it is impossible to only focus on that. I think the media is to blame for the "idolization" of athletes. It is becoming more common now a days for kids to say that they want to grow up to be a professional athlete rather than a scientist or President of the United States. I don't think it is fair to the athlete that every bit of their life is looked at under a microscope, but with the world that we live in today, these athletes are looked up to as idols, so we, as a society, expect them to be good role models for these kids.
David Fields
Tu/Th 930-1045
Kin 332i
I understand what you are saying and I agree that athletes are held up so much higher than the average person. But I would have to say that is the job they went into you have to be careful with what you do in your personal life as an athlete. Since kids idolize athletes is the main reason why they have to be role models. Is it right no but that is the world that athletes live in and that is most likely never going to change.
Matthew Boskovich
T/TH 930-1045
KIN 332i
Post a Comment