by dennie hayes

Created on: June 21, 2009   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

Just what exactly is it that we are supposed to be holding professional football players accountable for? They're human beings with imperfections like the rest of us and they're going to make mistakes in life, whether we approve of those mistakes or not. And their personal lives shouldn't be any of the public's business to begin with.

Have we really become that dumb of a society to the point we've become so fixated on the lives of rich and famous people, instead of focusing on our own problems? None of us with all of our powerful, hypocritical foresight are in any position or have the authority to pass judgment on anyone and accuse them of bad behavior and being a poor role model, when the people making the accusations are guilty of doing worse things.

Just because you're not a public figure and your every move isn't splattered on the evening news, that doesn't mean that you don't have any indiscretions and skeletons rotting away inside your closet. It's always been the role of a parent to instill certain values and discipline into their kids. It's never been the job of a professional athlete to raise anyone's children; that's just plain stupid and absurd.

And if you're one of those parents who allows your child to idolize a rich and famous athlete for no other reason than his wealth and status, then you should have your child taken away from you and charged with reckless child endangerment. By allowing your child to idolize someone because of their wealth and fame is setting a bad precedent for that child, to grow up having unrealistic expectations in people.

That's probably why so many of our young people today are growing up misguided and lost because they don't have regular individuals providing any guidance and direction in their lives. Having wealth and fame doesn't automatically make you a good person, and who really knows what these professional football players are really like behind closed doors.

So many of us were shocked and appalled when news broke about Lakers star Kobe Bryant being accused of rape, and some of us quickly came to Bryant's defense, proclaiming it was impossible for the Lakers star to have done such a horrible and despicable thing. But how can you know what someone's is capable of?

Parenting isn't a sport or a national pastime, and there're no timeouts or water breaks in being a parent. The truth is not everyone is meant to be a parent or have the mental capacity or patience to be a parent. Anyone can have a kid but it takes a special individual to be a parent.

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