Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sporting Role Models
When are we going to to wake up to the nonsense about sporting stars being role models. The only relevant thing they should be modeling to young people is their ability to play the game (or swim the race etc) and, as an extension of that, how to conduct oneself on the sporting arena.
Where is it written that a good footballer is automatically going to be someone of good character? Players are selected based on their ability to play the game, not on whether they are going to behave like good role models away from it. Players should be held accountable for their conduct on the field, their behaviour off the field should be judged according to the same criteria as the general public. If I get caught drink driving on my way home from work next week then I would be a bloody idiot and an appalling role model for children. This wouldn’t however place my job in jeopardy and I wouldn’t fined by my employer. Yet this is precisely the position many athletes find themselves in.
Many would disagree with what I have said here, and I can see that they may have a point. How can we not expect children to look up to the sporting stars that they worship on TV? By definition, if a children try to emulate their heroes then that footballer, swimmer or athlete is going to be a role model.
The key to my argument is parents. It is parents who have the capacity to be the most significant influence on children and their behaviour, for good or bad. Parents should be able to provide a filter through which children see the behaviour of the favourite sporting stars. Let parents be role models for children. Let sportsmen and women be the models that inspire sporting prowess.
“You can’t coach that”
