Should athletes be role models?

[Jaydumo20]

Do athletes have an obligation to be role models for their fans? There has been quite a bit of quitting during big games, and what some are calling overly selfish behavior.

 

[TheHorde]

Should they be? No. Are they? Sadly yes, to a pretty large degree. Regular good fathers, mothers, people that grind for their families and try to set a good example with how they live their lives should be role models to be emulated.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Obligation? Absolutely not.

Some athletes do seek that role in society and fulfill it well.

But it's true that, whether they want to be or not, athletes are generally expected to uphold that kind of behavior. Some that don't want to be resent being held to that standard, and I don't necessarily blame them.

I don't personally buy into "they make millions of dollars, setting a good example for our kids is a small price to pay for that."

 

[Inyatkin]

I saw this Charles Barkley commercial in like 1993

 

[ColchVEGAS]

Obligation? No.

 

[husky429]

Obligated? No.

Should good people try to be in any role? Absolutely.

 

[jibsey]

They trade on their names and fame to make money off of the public. That public includes impressionable kids who idolize and almost worship them. So in my mind they have an obligation to act decently and show good sportsmanship. That is enough to call it being a role model IMO.

 

[borninansonia]

Confucius said everyone, especially those in exalted roles, should strive to be role models.

 

[Rocktheworld]

No

But it’s great when one can be

 

[Rocktheworld]

Confucius said everyone, especially those in exalted roles, should strive to be role models.

The problem is that we make putting a ball in a hoop well an “exalted role”.

 

[superjohn]

Yes

 

[uchusky32]

If they deserve to be.

 

[Deepster]

Yes. It's part of the deal.

If you choose to enter into a position that comes with all the benefits and positives and adulation, you have to accept the responsibility that comes along with it. Now, I do agree that the parents and home environment come first, but that doesn't give the athlete a pass.

 

[willie99]

Everyone should be a role model. So much better than the alternative

Be proud of the man in the mirror

 

[Shamon30]

Only to their own children

 

[Woodson]

Are all entertainers meant to be role models? Just athletes?

“You worry about yours, let them worry about theirs. I got mine.” - weezy

 

[6Nattys4Us]

If you are a public figure - as most on TV people are (politicians, actors/actresses, athletes) several things change under the law:
1. Expectation of privacy is changed - you have less and are subject to paparazzi taking long zoom lens photos off your property and those get sold to TV shows, online, etc and you wind up there
2. You have a higher burden of proof in defamation lawsuits. Free speech issue where people can debate about public figures.
3. The kicker is public figures have a role in society that is elevated and even passively become a role model; in partiular youths find athletes as role models.

So in effect "role model" is not an opt-in decision for athletes.