Why do athletes have to be good role models?

What a ripper of a question matey!! Holy Dooley!! That Andrew Symonds is a dunny brush!! LMAO!!!

For me the more interesting aspect to this is that these top athletes smoke and drink yet it doesnt (always) seem to have such an impact on their performance - it would contradict some of the anti drugs messages and provide a great advert for drug use. If Michael Phellps can smoke bongs and still win eight gold medals it would seem pot doesnt descrease motivation as much as we might have thought! Ditto Symons - a long term alcoholic and still be one of the best fielders of all time. Rod Marsh - one of hte greatest ever weeket keepers. etc ...

Sitting here in the US I'm no longer surprised by the double standards we have towards pro atheletes. Major Leaque baseballers can lie under oath to Grand Juries, ingest "performance enhancing" (banned) steroids so they can break records & win muti-million dollar contracts, & they say no-one cares - the fans just want to see drama. Phelps, as far as we know did what he did WITHOUT any enhancements, made a record that will never me matched. Yet he "inhaled", (unlike some US President). Spare me the drama. Jools-USA SDLINESa

There is only one rule,'thou shall not get caught'. Perhaps they should drug test sports commentators, listen to them, do those guys arc up. I am not trying to get up their nose, but some commentators really hyperventalate,and its likely caused by more than just two cans of Red Bulll. Phelps would have fitted in well with the West Indies cricket teams a few years back,and he would definitely get an invite to lunch by Ian Botham.

I think that the athletes/sportsmen of today have three problems with regard to role models. One, they have very bad managers who believe the more publicity they can achieve for their sportsman etc, the more money they can make. Number two is that the media/papparazi are greedy for a story to lift their ratings.and are ready to print/photo anything. Number three is that the Boards etc who control these sports haven't a clue about what happens at the coal face and are incensed with their own public image. They didn't even try to assist Andrew Symonds when he had trouble with the Indian Cricket team, they hung him out to dry. Now every newspaper in the country is out to cruicify him for anything he does just to get a good story. Please get off his back and report something useful, not degrade a great Australian who has his country at heart.

Spiro, Couldn't have said it better myself!

I can contribute this. In almost every survey of ''who would most care to be like'' conducted among young men, 86.2% said Darren Lockyer/Stephen Larkham/Don Bradman/Rod Laver- etc etc. All modest, humble young men,blessed with the courage and fortitude to match their talent. Why then today, are we working so hard to promote skites and showmen as idols??

Good points Hoy. Say that your kid was mucking up and saying something about following Andrew Symonds' example. Would you walk away thinking "Andrew Symonds is really compromising my authority as a parent. I don't know what to do about this." No, of course not. You'd sort it out. It's only a problem if you let it become a problem. BTW, I've always wondered about the gap between what fans can yell at players during games and what players can do in response. Best example: the chant of "Posh Spice takes it up the a***" that used to be sung when David Beckham was playing for Man Utd. On the other hand, Teddy Sheringham kisses the badge on his shirt after scoring a goal at Highbury and gets reported to the police for "inciting violence." It's not fair at all. Not that you can do anything about it.

Tim, you will notice I said I was blowing both ways on this one. As I mentioned, the difference between Bill the accountant and sportstars is that sportstars are on TV (read famous). No, I don't have children, but I would like to think that parents are responsible for MOST ethical and moral guidance more so than the local soccer player fighting at the pub etc. What does it say about society when we start blaming children's bad behaviour on Roy et al? Again, I don't have children, but I would like to think that parents can control their children, or at least have enough influence over them to point out that the sportspersons bevahiour is wrong, rather than just say what a bad role model he/she is... I also agree with Papa about the worlds best archer. He could be a royal bastard, we wouldn't know. Another thing to think about is how blown out of proportion are these indescretions? I know Phelps has to be taken at face value, but I can imagine when these sportspeople go out they are the subject of all sorts of shit. Witness a yobbo yelling racial stuff at a cricket game. The player yells something back, and he is fine. Yet if a drunken fellow yells obscenity at him when he is out eating and he replies, then he was in an altercation, he was out at a pub, horror he must have been drinking and now has a problem.

The flip side to all this is that there is a lot less emphasis in the media on the type of sportsperson who is loyal, disciplined (on and off the field), does lots of community work, i.e. the sort of person who should be a role model for the nation's children. I know it doesn't sell as many papers but that's still a sad state of affairs IMO.

Tim said The stock reply, ’sports stars aren’t role models, parents are role models’ is, quite frankly, utter nonsense. Children are not influenced by a single source, but a variety of them. Anyone who seriously thinks that a parent should be the only individual to hold away over his or her child has never had children. tim Of course children are influenced by more than a single source we all are but a parents job is to teach there children how to judge and interpret people no matter who they are.The reality is that if a parent carry's on like a bogan feral then the kids will too,you ,just have to go to the mall to see that. You have to make it clear to your kids that there just sportsman and hammer it home all the time,the problem is to many parents out there act like bloody kids around these sports stars,pinning to them and putting them up on pedestals.

"The best example I can think of is how I supported Shane Warne - I only paid to watch him on HIS side of the fence, and so was very happy to call him the greatest bowler I’ve ever seen. But once he came back onto MY side of the fence, he was often just another tosser who I wouldn’t give the time of day. I used to say the same about Andrew Johns…" Brilliantly put! Spiro, I take issue with a couple of things. Parents and teachers have to behave in an appropriate manner because they are authority figures and are entrusted with bringing up good little human beings. There is no parralel there with sports people, as sportspeople don't make a choice (such as parenthood, studying to be a teacher, etc) that is intrinsically wrapped up in the obligation to set a good example. As to whether or not they should nonetheless be obliged to set a good example... “If you aspire to the fame game, you have to pay the price which involves civil behaviour.” Now see this is an interesting one - and for the record, I am NOT (unfortunately!) a professional sportsman going into bat for my own kind, Brett McKay, tho good pick-up - coz I argue (generalisation that it is) that you don't become a top sportsperson FOR the fame. You ONLY become a top sportsperson if you have the TALENT and ABILITY to do so. "I'd like to be famous....hmm, might become a rugby league star then!". Doesn't work like that, does it. Why exactly should someone who finds themselves thrust into the spotlight coz they just happen to be blessed with preternatural ability in a sport that is widely followed? You're the world's best archer? No worries, you can do what you like in this country coz no-one will notice you. Worlds best cricketer (etc.), sorry mate, you 've gotta be a saint. See the double standard? It's sorta odd that no such saintly behavious is sought from those who genuinely strive for fame (for fame's sake), eg contestants on Big Brother. In fact poor behaviour is expected as par for the course. "If he is prepared to take the money from sponsors, he must be prepared to live and behave in an appropriate way that does not offend the sensibilities of people concerned with ensuring that we live in a moral and civil society." I don't want to sound too much like an economic realist (ahem) but the sponsorship money that top sportspeople are paid is not to behave properly. Nor does payment imply an obligation to do so. They know (or at least should) that they are paid because of the extent of their particular pulic image and the product provider wanting the commercial benefits of association. They also (should) know that if that image deteriorates, the dollars dry up (eg Kate Moss, who was deserted by those she had contracts with - only for a tactical week or so, mind - when she fessed up to an inclination towards Columbian marching powder). It's a commercial contract, not a moral one. I could go on, having only lightly scratched the surface, but I've got a 2 o'clock meeting... But hey Spiro, thanks heaps for providing a forum, and a well-moderated one at that, for such discussion. Oh, and completely concur that that soft drink ad demonstrates a stunning lack of judgement on the part of anyone and everyone involved in putting that together. Symonds inclusion isn't even particulalry relevant to the 'story', it's almost an tacked-on after thought. Baffling on all counts.

The stock reply, 'sports stars aren't role models, parents are role models' is, quite frankly, utter nonsense. Children are not influenced by a single source, but a variety of them. Anyone who seriously thinks that a parent should be the only individual to hold away over his or her child has never had children. @Hoy - The difference between Bill from accounting and your archetypal sports star is that the only reason why the sport star commands the hefty salary that he or she does is BECAUSE people take an interest in him or her - both on and off the sports field. Professional sports are businesses that rely on the marketability of their stars in order to generate revenue, and that means trying to make them appealing to the common populace. Being a role model comes with the job; any public figure is going to be an influence on some.

Spiro said “If you aspire to the fame game, you have to pay the price which involves civil behaviour Thats a great quote Spiro

Roles models no,thats a parents job Should they be decent humans? yes,should they be able to show a bit of class,yes Andrew Symonds none of the above Phelps is still a decent guy from what we know,just made a bad mistake

I can sit on either side of the fence here, and see both sides. I would tend to think that it is not the superstars fault that children act badly though. I would look a little closer to home. 1) These blokes are normal people who happen to be good at their sport/profession. If Bill from accounting is a whiz on the calculator, saves the company heaps, then goes out and gets gassed, passes out in a pool of vomit, who cares? Why should it really be any different for a normal person who is good at sport? 2) Because they are on TV that makes them one up on Bill from accounting I suppose. Young people do want to be like their heroes there is no doubt. I used to always be Dean Jones when I played backyard cricket. When, for instance, Phelps does something illegal (like smoke pot), and is not punished by the sport, what does that say about right and wrong when you are a superstar? You can do anything you want. Young people these days are pampered far too much, and this, more so than their sporting heroes would affect their behaviour I would think. They can't even get marked with red pen anymore, because it is damaging to their psych. Well maybe a little right from wrong when they are young by those truly important like parents and teachers goes further than a role model they have never met.

Good on ya Michael. Another pothale in the making. We're growing in numbers.

Spiro said "If you aspire to the fame game, you have to pay the price which involves civil behaviour." Says it all for me.