Same Story, Different Day

It really bums me out to see athletes in the state they're in these days. It seems like every time I turn on ESPN there's another athlete who has either raped a girl, done drugs, or possessed an illegal weapon. For a while, football and basketball players seemed to make up the majority of these stories, but the Tiger Woods scandal last Thanksgiving proved that anyone in the spotlight is vulnerable.

I definitely think that being a professional athlete skews one's sense of reality. I don't know many people who would argue with that. For example, most pro athletes were discovered at a young age and in order to cultivate that talent, most of them had to give up almost everything else and focus on their sport. That in itself can be a good thing, but it becomes a problem when others pamper the athlete beyond belief. I've spent a season working for a Division I college football team and I was shocked to find out how much work we had to do just so the players didn't have to do anything extra. Everyone needs to be accountable for themselves.

I hesitate to use the term "role model" when describing athletes and I think that excuse is way past cliche. The truth is athletes are public figures, not role models. Just because a person has a particular skill does not mean children should idolize them. Some pro athletes have made it a goal to take part in philanthropy and those are the ones that deserve extra attention, not just the ones that score the most touchdowns or home runs.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's frustrating, but given the ingredients that go into many pro athletes, I'm not surprised that they mess up. I just wish we could hear more headlines about the good things our favorites ball players do as well.

Update: Yesterday Lawrence Taylor was arrested for allegedly raping a 16 year old prostitute. I don't know all the facts, but there was obviously some peculiar activity going whenever these events occurred. I hope to God this story was fabricated. Only time will tell.