by Kevin De Silva Piques

Created on: November 27, 2009

Children are constantly looking for someone they can look up to. Perhaps no person or persons is more visible today than sports figures. They are ingrained all through society as larger than life people who can do extraordinary physical feats. We see them on television, the Internet, in the newspaper and billboards across our cities. There is no denying sports figures, whether they like it or not, are role models.

More often than not, sports figures are failing when it comes to being role models. We see superstar athletes being caught taking performance enhancing drugs, recreational drugs, committing adultery, fighting in public places, involved in shootings, etc. The list could go on and on. The question being asked is why.

The first reason sports figures are failing is because the decline in values we have as a society as a whole. Bad behaviour is not only tolerated but it is accepted as well. We shrug our shoulders and think for a moment or two and then just carry on with our lives. Our children see how we react and begin to learn from us.

Many sports figures should not be role models. They are in that position only because they are in front of todays youth. Many lack character and morals that we would want our children to emulate. We often hear high profile athletes tell us they don't want to be role models. This is part of the problem. They are happy to accept large obscene amounts of money for playing sports, but fail to realize the responsibility that come with the fame and glamour of being a sports figure.

We live in a "me first" society where we take care of ourselves and thats it. More focus should be on what is also beneficial for the greater good as well. It takes a commitment for public figures to conduct themselves in a manner that is not only socially responsible, but also raises the bar for public values.

We need to ask ourselves what is important in life. Is being a success just about how much money one makes? I believe part of the reason our sports figures are failing as role models is because we keep looking at them as role models. Society and parents in general need to shift that focus onto other figures who may not be quite so public. There are plenty of heroes among us, our children just need to be shown where to find them. Some of those heroes are athletes, some may be ordinary people in our communities doing extraordinary things.

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