Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
Athletes the world over are largely perceived as good role models and ambassadors for their own countries. More often than not, a budding athlete receives praise and honor from both the local and international audience. It is a well known fact that athletes are easily able to entrench their character and style on their supporters owing to their extraordinary abilities and talents. Indeed, many internationally renowned athletes – from O.J. Simpson to Ray Lewis to Diego Maradona – were greatly admired, and commanded astronomical and hysterical following during their heydays due to how they assiduously and conscientiously brought their respective countries in the world map (Resnick, 2009). But behind the scenes, most athletes engage in activities that undoubtedly borders on crime and sheer wickedness. Many grotesque accounts have revealed that the character exhibited by athletes on the screen does not necessarily translate into good role-modeling off the field. It is therefore the purpose of this paper to show why athletes are not good role models.
It is undeniable that professional athletes are valuable assets to their own communities, and indeed the whole world. But it is ridiculous to assert that athletes are good role models (Resnick, 2009). In simple terms, a role model can be defined as an individual who can easily be emulated by others due to his or her heroic, leadership, and mentorship capabilities (Lemier, 2008). In this regard, most athletes are emulated due to their extraordinary abilities in the field coupled with the great physical form that most of them exhibit. Other people comprehensively emulate an athlete in all aspects of life regardless of the expertise exhibited by the athlete.
Professional athletes are able to influence the moral development of character of children and the youth through imitation and initiation processes. According to a research undertaken in 2007, 51 percent of the participants attested to having being influenced by athlete role models (Lemier, 2008). In imitation, the supporters are driven into acting like the athletes, who consciously or unconsciously act as demonstrators of what is expected of them by the supporters. Once this is achieved, the supporters internalize the character of the athletes in the hope of totally becoming like them, a process known as initiation. The problem arises when such influence negatively impacts on the behavior of supporters. On more than one occasion, supporters have emulated the violent tackles, sidekicks and other misdemeanors viewed on the television, causing untold mayhem to their colleagues.
The notion that many athletes use performance-enhancing drugs to compete favorably in field and track events have driven many youths into drug reliance. This culture has brought devastating consequences, especially to the youth. It is a well known fact that athletes’ use of performance-enhancing drugs – some packaged and marketed as dietary supplements – surpasses the national average. This has had a negative impact on their supporters, especially the youth, who would like to be like them. In an obscured and sublime way, athlete role models have continued to recruit the youth into drug reliance more than anyone could ever think of. For example, when the baseball player by the name of Mark McGwaire commended Androstenedione drug for boosting his performance, sales for the dietary supplement pill improved drastically (Perka, Bartee, Dunn, Wang, & Eddy, 2000). But the worrying part is that individuals go ahead to take such concoctions without stopping to think if such drugs really work. This definitely shows why athletes cannot be entrusted with the function of acting as role models.
Popularized by athletes, performance-enhancing drugs and dietary supplements have continued to be marketed via print and electronic mediums to the unsuspecting market segment that is largely comprised of the youth. To add salt to the wound, the same athlete role models pose in the advertisements to maximize the sales of these products. Adages of how the drugs are bound to increase energy and performance levels, including improved muscular development, are incorporated in the advertisements. This has led many people to be embroiled in drugs without actually knowing the consequences for their behaviors. Performance is given preference over health issues. A study done by Perka, Bartee, Dunn, Wang, & Eddy (2000) revealed that 32.7 percent and 41 percent of students would approve of taking the diets drugs to improve performance and energy respectively. However, 36 percent of the respondents would go ahead and take the drugs without prior knowledge about the drugs efficacy. This can only serve to amplify the damage that has been done by athlete role models.
Although legal systems in many countries are driven by the premise that all are equal under the law, sports stars seem to get off the hook much more easily when they are comprehended for wrong doing (Lemier, 2008). Recently, Stephen Gerald of Liverpool was cleared of assault charges even after CCTV footage captured him viciously attacking a bar manager. This and many more occurrences of similar magnitude have led the youth to exhibit irresponsible behavior in the hope of emulating the sports role models. In this respect, the notion that athletes are not good role models cannot be further from the truth.
The youth can undeniably be accused of nursing an insatiable appetite for lifestyles that are enjoyed by vicarious role models such as Tiger Woods, Wayne Rooney, Shaquille O’Neal, and a host of other athletes. Manufacturers and advertisers have utilized this loophole to increase the market share for their products by using renowned sportsmen and women to target the youth consumption group. But while they have been able to penetrate the age-group and realize their aim of profit making, no-one has ever pondered about the negative effects transferred to the target group. A study conducted sometime back revealed that vicarious role models such as athletes and entertainers have a direct impact on certain self-images, behavior styles, and lifestyle patterns adopted by the youth (Bush, Martin, & Bush, 2004). To the youth, a celebrity athlete cuts an image of someone who is dynamic and highly respected in society. In this respect, families have been turned into virtue battlefields by the youth who demand more than their parents can afford to keep up with celebrity lifestyles exhibited by vicarious models.
The above factor has led many youths to lose their social and cultural identities. A study commissioned by Bush, Martin, and Bush (2004) revealed that the role model influences brought about by sports stars is positively correlated to adolescent’s brand loyalty, behavioral attitudes and intentions, as well as word-of-mouth communications. Whereas this is good for the advertising industry, it has deeply affected the process of actualizing one’s self identity based on his or her own unique capabilities. Today, many youths readily identify with sports personalities more than they identify with their own innate qualities. As if this is not enough, the youths go ahead to align themselves with lifestyles and behaviors that bear negative connotations on their personal growth and development on the mere premise that their athlete role models are engaged in the same practices. This is not right.
It is therefore undeniable that athlete role models have done more harm than good in society. While acknowledging the fact that many athletes have studiously propagated positive values by acknowledging their responsibility to act in accordance to what is expected of them, the same cannot be said of others who have negatively affected people clamoring to be like them (Lemier, 2008). Though there may be a few bad eggs in the basket, the negative impact created is exceedingly immense. People have lost their lives while others have been maimed for life in the pursuit of wanting to be like Mike Tyson, Triple H, or the Undertaker. This should be discouraged at all costs.
Works Cited
- Bush, A.J., Martin, C.A., & Bush, V.D. “Sports Celebrity Influence on the Behavioral Intentions of Generation Y”. Journal of Advertising Research. 2004
- Elder, L. Athletes and Role Models. 2007.
- Lemier, K. “Relationship between Athletes and Role Models.” Journal of Undergraduate Research, Vol. 8. 2008.
- Perko, M., Bartee, R.T., Dunn, M.S., Wang, M.Q., & Eddy, J. “Giving New Meaning to the Term ‘Taking One for the Team’: Influences on the Use/ Non-use of Dietary Supplements among Adolescent Athletics.” American Journal of Health Studies, 16(2). 2000
- Resnick, S. Athletes are not role Models, but can be Idols. Web.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.