For years, athletes have been idolized by numbers of people. Whether it be younger children, who want to grow up just like these athletes have, or teenage athletes themselves, looking up to these professionals as they study their techniques, lifestyles, as well as aspects on different views in the world. It is not uncommon, however, for adults to idolize these athletes, as their wealth, fame, and power may be overwhelmingly shown and awed upon. However, it seems to be that the behavior of these so called ‘heros’ to many, are not the most ideal person to necessarily be looking up to. But is there reasonable logic to why these professionals act less that what they should, for who they are? It is time for things to change, for these professional athletes to be held to higher, moral standards! …show more content…
There are numbers of cases where athletes have revealed what is being called ‘“bad boy” behavior’, as they manifest these “negative morals” says Janet Reitman in her article ‘Be Like Mike?’. (Be Like Mike?) In this article, it explains the way children still look up to these professionals as heros and role models, when they are living lives far from these magnificent roles. The director of Kenan Ethics Program at Duke University, Elizabeth Kiss, was quoted in Janet Reitman's article, saying fans of today are mixing very different values, athlete values and moral values. Athlete values would consist of, “Speed, strength, and endurance…” while moral values are composed of, “...goodness or rightness of persons.”(Be Like Mike?) The number of cases are rising to the surface consisting of professional athletes, and their unbelievable or outrageous. behaviors
Ethical Rules on Sport’s Justice. Dallas: East Dallas Times, page 21. 2008. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Print: Harry, Patrick Hayes.
Can cheating be an excuse for the phrase; survival of the fittest, or is it an epidemic moral corruption? Since the advent of modern competitive sport, winning has always been the bottom line. Honesty, honour and fair play have taken the backseat. The purpose of the essay May The Best Cheater Win, by Harry Bruce, is to inform how cheating has become widespread and accepted in America. Sports are an integral part of American culture and indeed an entire industry exists because of these competitive sports. The result of these competitive sports has led to the moral corruption of most athletes, as they would do anything to win. Harry Bruce discusses the distortion of right and wrong that has penetrated all levels of sports, from children's league to regional division. He confidently informs his reader that organized sports not only "offer benefits to youngsters" but "they also offer a massive program of moral corruption".
This research paper will determine whether professional athletes deserve a second chance to play in professional sports after inappropriate behaviors. Professional athletes are considered idols and are often held to higher standards. Society has become concerned with so many of today’s athletes making the evening news for their unsuitable behaviors.
In America today athletic events play an important role in the reflective perception and financial standing of any given community. It is for this reason that the individuals involved in these events are also of significance to the community. Due to the esteemed and very influential role placed on athletes they are often times given privileges that would not normally be given to them if they were not athletes. These privileges are given in order to recruit the athletes, and once recruited to maintain their status on the team so that, in turn, the team's status is not adversely affected. To understand the importance of the role of an athlete one must first examine the role of the athletic event in which the athlete participates and the level of importance placed on this event.
Athletes are national heroes who are held in high regard. When their reputation gets very high and they fail to realize that they are still accountable for their actions regardless of the position they hold in their societies, athletes can turn into violent activities. They become egocentric and selfish-centered, forgetting that their moral conduct should be put at check just as any other citizen.
According to author Michael Oriard, “Heroism is something more than celebrity, the hero as someone who embodies qualities we admire and wish to emulate, who ultimately represents his people in their highest aspiration (20).” It involves having the ability to connect with all levels of people while fighting for an underlying purpose. This was the core of Muhammad Ali and the principles he stood for throughout his career as a boxer. The term hero is used today to describe celebrities, sports figures, or even political leaders. Generations are suffocated and largely influenced by the heroes of their time, but rarely do we see impacts of heroes affect multiple generations of people. In the 1990’s the sporting world was captured by Mark McGuire and his historical race to become Major League baseball’s single season homerun king. Michael Jordan become the first modern day mass media sports hero by winning six National Basketball Association championships from 1991-1998 (Ventures). Jordan’s success on the court led to an international fame that was spread due to the rise in mass media around the world. In Oriard’s article about Jordan and Ali he mentions that, “He (Jordan) embodies the dazzling grace, beauty, creativity, and competitiveness that feed the fantasies of children and inspire awe in adults (Oriard 13).” However, it must be clear that to become a hero of multiple generations and gain support amongst all races, genders, social classes, and religions it requires more than just the impressive grace of performing on an athletic field. Mark Kram wrote an article for Sports Illustrated in 1975 that can summarize Ali’s influences: “His followers cut across all class lines. There are the moneyed, who must always be near success. There is the white middle class, that huge engine of society that once so rejected him but now jockeys for position with the miniature cameras and ballpoint pens (26).” The drama and tragedy of Ali’s career allowed him to
In the sports world, as much as in the political, social or corporate world, ethics is put to the test at all times. Most athletes spend their career trying to overcome many barriers in order to gain notoriety and achieve good results with the objective of winning titles and, especially, to have great future opportunities, as for example, being awarded with an athletic scholarship.
Fans might now that athletes on and of the field participate in all kinds of illegal and immoral activity, but overall perception of athletes representing goodness reigns as a supreme myth” (Whitt & Perlich, 2014,
Aiming to be a pro athlete is one goal that many young kids have, they look up to stars like Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson, and other sports superstars. They bad thing about this worship of these athletes is that not many of these kids will have the chance to become a star. So if these kids grow up in life being told that they can do it, this can really affect those children’s goals in life. Instead of focusing on their school work they instead might just focus on trying to learn more about how to become an athlete which can lead to them getting poor grades in school. The kids look up to the athletes for all the good things they also get influenced by the bad things that they do. For example when Michael Phelps smoked marijuana it was all over television and the news. So when a young kid that looks up to Phelps sees him doing this that child might think that smoking marijuana is okay sin...
A lot of Athletes are model citizens that you should really look up to, but there are. also some bad apples in the bunch that ruin it for everyone. Athletes can inspire young people to work hard so that their efforts can pay off, but no one. is pure and flawless. Greed does take a hold of some players, but they do. shouldn't be the ones we devote all of our attention to.
Athlets have been lookd up to as role models for as long as sports have exsted. There is just something attractive about the thought of being in good physical condition and being talented in sports. But, are athlets the kind of people that children should be looking up to for direction and guidance? Many children often look up to the professional athletes as role models. In fact, in 1995 Sports Illustrated for Kids did a survey for kids who were ages 7 through 12 about who their role model was. The majority of the kids answered that a professional athlete was who they most looked up to. Only four percent of the children answered that their role model was one of thir parents. Because of today?s media, athletes are constantly in the public eye. Everything they do on and off of the playing field. Some professional athletes speak a positive message through their fame by demonstrating constructive ideas such as teamwork and commitment while they are on the field. Even off of the playing field some athletes set a good example by visiting children in schools, going to hospitals, or even setting up foundations and organizations to help the ill and less fortunate people. However, other athletes are not as considerate to the fact that someone may be looking up to them, some athletes are not concerned about anything other than the sport they are getting paid to play and themselves. These athletes are the ones that propose questions over whether athletes should be considered role models or not. A role model can be defined as a person whose behavior, example or success is or can be emulated by others, especially young people. Who would want their child looking up to someone who has been convicted of domestic violence or has a drug addiction? It is an argument of opinion that cannot be settled.
In today’s society many will argue whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. In the present time athletes are being paid phenomenally large amounts of money for their entertainment. It is my claim that all professional athletes are overpaid because they do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Society does not value entertainment enough to warrant such high salaries such as those of many professional athletes. There is no reason that these athletes should demand these tremendous amounts of money. This is why you have to put into question their reasoning for demanding such high salaries.
One issue that these high salaries cause is that having all this money spoils the athletes. Athletes buy so much unnecessary stuff after they get their money. For example, Michael Jordan has about 28 cars. Who needs all these cars? He didn’t buy all of these, but there is a certain limit on how many cars a person needs. Athletes spend their money on cars, entertainment, clothes, and their big mansions. Another instance of athletes spoiling themselves is the use of illegal drugs (“Pro Salaries”). Michael Irvin of the Dallas Cowboys has been involved in many of these altercations. He has been through all the punishments there possibly is and still makes his money (“Pro Salaries”). Athletes think they are at a higher level and that they can do whatever they want. An issue that everyone hears about everyday that a pro athlete has committed a murder/crime. Ray Lewis, a safety for the Baltimore Ravens, is being tried for two accounts of murder. He is an excellent athlete. He is on the pro-bowl team for the 1999 season and led the league in tackles. He has just ruined his career by even being involved in a situation like this. Another player is Robert Lewis, a 20 year-old basketball player from the Dallas Mavericks. He was convicted of beating his girlfriend almost to death. A 20-year-old basketball star doesn’t need to feel that he is a king to be a leader. What kind of role model is he setting to other youngsters that want to follow in the same footsteps?
... conclusion, looking back at the evolution of sports, it has gone from a group of athletes that played a game they loved whole heartedly, to a group of athletes that play a game basically for greed; gone from a group working together and using their experiences to help others, to seeing how good they can make themselves look. Fans have suffered through players’ strikes so they can make more money. They have started using “performance enhancing drugs” to get bigger muscles so they can out do their own teammates. Sports reports talk about how an individual won the game rather than the team winning the game. Integrity and teamwork need to start at the high school level of sports so these young athletes will know how it feels to work together as a whole. It will benefit them in all aspects of their lives, from school to family and that is something to be proud of.
Does Participating In Sports Really Keep Athletes Out Of Trouble? (In today’s society) We tend to put professional athletes on a pedestal. We are captivated by their words and we find ourselves so wrapped up in their, “accomplishments” that we are more or less blinded by the roles they play during the game, that we fail to get to know their true character when they are off the field, court, or rink.