Are Athletes Role Models?

Cover Your Kid's Eyes

There are many athletes in sports today that are selfish, criminal, cheaters, crybabies, and negative influences on children as a role model. A recent story that just broke brings this to the forefront. The New England Patriots' receiver Aaron Hernandez may have just cashed in his NFL career because he couldn't get away from trouble.

If you haven't heard the story, it goes something like this. All of the details aren't out, but here's the cliffnotes. Hernandez had a rental car registered in his name, and a dead body was found in it. At first he wasn't tied to it as a suspect. Now, he seems to be a possible suspect. In light of all of this, Sports Illustrated reported that teams had concerns about gang affiliation by Hernandez in Bristol, CT before he was drafted.

I was going to write this story yesterday but some things came up and I'm glad I didn't because this story gave me great relevance for my discussion.

The main thing that people need to take away from situations like this is that a lot of people don't really change who they are when they become famous or successful. Especially people who grow up in an environment with a gang mindset. The gang, hip-hop culture has a strong stance on people forgetting where they grew up, and who they grew up with. When someone becomes successful out of this culture they have people around them who say, "Don't change when you're famous. Don't forget about all the times I had your back. We're the reason you got to this point."

While those things may be true for many situations, if you want to be a successful and respected person then you can't hang around shady people. It doesn't matter if you grew up with them, they're your family, or any affiliation you have with them. No shady people allowed if you want to be respected.

When it's all said and done, Aaron Hernandez may end up out of a career, in jail for a number of years, and back to square one with all of the other nobodys that he seemed to surround himself with in the past.

People like Hernandez can't be a role model to your kids. The most he can be is an example. He should be an example. This is what not to do. Don't be affiliated with gangs. Don't be involved with shady people. If you grew up in this environment and have an opportunity to leave it behind...go! You don't have any restraints because these people knew you before you were successful and famous. Yeah, i'm sure some of them helped you along at some point, but you made it and they didn't. It might sound very harsh but if you want to stay successful and stay respected, and stay out of jail, then remove yourself from these situations.

Open Their Eyes 

While people like Aaron Hernandez are out their in abundance, we also have some great role models in sports. There are a ton of great people out there who epitomize exactly what a role model should be. They work hard. They train hard. They know the right things to say and make the right moves in life to set an example to everyone.

One person who many of you love to hate, and I just love,  is LeBron James. In his media session prior to Game 7, he said something that absolutely solidified why he is a great role model to me. Now, many of you bring up things about him leaving Cleveland and "The Decision" and all of that stuff. 

I don't look at any of that as a negative. He saw a better opportunity and he took it. There is a certain point in life that i'm sure anyone would tell their kids or closer friends or anyone looking for advice that if they aren't happen in their current situation then they should move. LeBron wasn't given the opportunities he wanted to succeed in Cleveland, so he moved to Miami. I agree that he didn't need an hour TV special to announce it, but i'm sure that wasn't all his decision. A lot of that was his agent and ESPN making it into a spectacle. 

LeBron exemplifies qualities that anyone should desire. He is the best player in the world and still spends every day working to get better. He spends his off-season, his vacation time, training to improve aspects of his game. He doesn't take a day off. He shows his emotions on his sleeve and isn't afraid to show you who he is. Sometimes he tries to sell a call a little too much and is very verbal with the referees, but he understands the moment. He is aware of what he is trying to accomplish in the game. 

In the aforementioned soundbite, he was asked about how fans were rooting against him in Game 7 against the Spurs. His response exemplified his character perfectly. He said something along the lines of, "I'm still going to show up to the stadium. I'm still going to put on my jersey and play hard for my team. When you look at the situation I came from, I wasn't supposed to make it here but i'm blessed that I did. I'm not going to take that for granted because every time I walk into the locker room and see my name on the back of an NBA jersey, I know the hard work I had to put in to make it here." 

That is exactly what I want a role model to say. He understands that people won't always be on your side. He doesn't let it bother him. He looks at the things he has had to overcome in life and is grateful to be where he is today. He isn't selfish or arrogant about being as great as he is. He appreciates the people who have helped him make it to this place and knows that he must work with his teammates to win his second championship. If you can here all of that and still hate LeBron James then I suggest you look in a mirror and do some self-evaluation. 

If you had to choose a role model for your kids, would you rather have the hard working LeBron James, who is humble, appreciative, respectable, and grateful for what he achieved, or the Aaron Hernandez who is on the verge of throwing it all away because he couldn't get away from a certain crowd? 

I'm going to take LeBron James everyday. I'm going to take LeBron over people who stack up much better as role models than Aaron Hernandez. I'd take LeBron over Tim Tebow, Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter and on and on. 

I want my role models to be people who have gone through the adversity and realize how hard they have to work to achieve greatness. I want a role model who is grateful for the people who support them and know that they are at the top of their game.