With the recent death of Steve McNair and the legal troubles of Michael Vick and Donte Stallworth, not to mention the steroids debacle in Major League Baseball, it got me thinking. Charles Barkley is always right!
Now, I bet you are guessing how the Chuck Wagon and these troubled superstars all tie in (other that his short stint in jail for drunk driving).
Back in the 1980's Barkley did a infamous Nike ad which he declared, "We are not role models". He and Nike took a heap of flack from just about everyone whether or not athletes are role models.
They aren't!
They are flawed human beings just like the rest of us. Just because they make a lot of money and are on TV all the time does not mean we need to tell our kids to emulate them because the one thing I can guarantee, they will let you down.
Let's not be surprised that many professional athletes have flawed personal lives for one reason or another. They do. They are human, just like us. So, please stop treating them as elitists and putting them on a pedestal.
Athletes are not role models. They are skilled craftsman. That's all.
We, as parents, should be the role models for our kids. If you wouldn't trust Vick to dog sit or for Stallworth to take your car to get detailed, don't let them be responsible for influencing your child.
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