Sports Heroes? Role Models? Or both?

Heroism in Sports: Are they really heroes? Should society place athletes at such high esteem to call them “heroes”? What does the pressure to perform and to maintain the hero status do to athletes? Should athletes strive to be “role models”? Are athletes role models even when they do not want to be?  How do sports heroes gone bad affect the children who admire them? 

In order to appropriately address these questions, I think it is important to consider the definition of a hero. Merriam-Webster defines a hero as “a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.” Consider a baseball player that hits a walk-off grand slam, a golfer that shoots a hole-in-one, or a basketball player that hits a game-winning shot. Do these individuals fit the definition of a hero? Are they admired? Yes. And did they commit great or brave acts? They did.

According to that definition, these athletes are heroes. And in the minds of many fans, young and old, across the world, they are! But heroic sports acts aren’t just limited to professional athletes. Take, for example, Jason McElwain, an autistic high school basketball manager that was given a chance to play during the last home game of his senior year.

Jason is the textbook example of a sports hero and he only ever played one high school contest.

The difference between Jason and many other sports heroes: Jason is also a role model.

Jason is someone that anyone can look up to. He plays for the love of the game and without asking anything in return. He is genuine and inspires those around him. Jason represents all that is good in sports and sets a prime example for student athletes world-wide.

Consider now, Tiger Woods and Barry Bonds. All three are arguably sports heroes. They have won tournaments in improbable ways or hit game-winning home runs. Nothing that they have accomplished on the field is questioned. It’s their off-the-field actions that draw ire. Is Tiger Woods, an admitted sex addict, someone that parents want their children to look up to? Is Tiger Woods, the number one golfer in the world, serving as an athletic hero to many children and sports fans world-wide? Is Barry Bonds, a man that has hit more home runs than any other baseball player, a role model? I would argue no. He has allegedly used substances that are banned in the MLB and has allegedly lied about his use. But did sports fans, children and adult, all across the country watch his every swing as he sat at 755 home runs?

How about all of the people in the world that are not professional athletes, or even amateur athletes for that matter; is every person out there a role model for current and future generations? Do you know someone that is close to you and your family, but is an individual that you would never want your children to look up to based on their actions or attitude? I would venture to guess that you do.

As much as we don’t consider every “ordinary” member of society a role model, we can’t consider every athlete a role model; it would just be unrealistic. And while we can’t consider every athlete a role model, inherently, almost all professional athletes are individuals that are looked upon more critically when/if they make mistakes because every move they make is followed by the media. Are professional athletes the individuals that should be serving as role models for our nation’s children, or is that role one better served by community leaders, friends, and family? Do athletes have a large sense of entitlement that inhibits them from serving as effective role models in the community? Do community leaders, friends, and family?

While there are many professional athletes out there that would be fantastic role models, if we want our nation’s children to have effective, honest, and reputable role models we need to help them identify the people that they should look up to; regardless of their athletic accomplishments. 

The Best (Collegiate) Decision I've Ever Made

Five years ago this week, I made the best decision of my collegiate career.In a day and age that has constantly changing technologies, resources, and expectations there has been one constant for me. That constant variable has not been my school work (sorry, mom!) or my sense of commitment to the University of Cincinnati. In a sense, it's bigger than both of those things combined:





Educationally, I have gleaned more  knowledge from Sigma Phi Epsilon than the totality of my hours spent on my academic experience during the last five years. That's not to say that UC has provided me with anything less than a world-class education, but rather to say that I have developed personally in ways that don't occur inside the four walls of a traditional classroom. SigEp has taught me those soft skills that we often forget about while studying for our next midterm or final. Among those skills are inclusivity, attentiveness, analytical thinking, situational awareness, fiscal responsibility, self-evaluation, and self-motivation. This list is not wholly inclusive of my developmental journey through SigEp, but I think it's a great place to start.

A large influence on the quality of an experience has to do with the environment that surrounds the individuals involved, and it is my firm belief that there is no better college campus of which to be a part of than the University of Cincinnati. When I arrived at UC, I arrived with a slightly bitter attitude. Another university had withdrawn some of their financial support just two months before I was slated to start fall classes, and I came to UC wondering what could have been.

Although I didn't realize it at the time, the largest driver of my willingness to connect with the campus community was my involvement Ohio Theta. The older Brothers in SigEp acted as fantastic mentors and helped guide me in the right direction. It was through these interactions that I developed an unquantifiable sense of pride for all things dealing with the University of Cincinnati. SigEp affirmed my connection to my alma matre; for that, I will forever be indebted.

As I begin to wrap up what has undoubtedly been the best college experience that I could have ever imagined, I find myself returning to The Creed of Sigma Phi Epsilon. When deciding whether or not I should invest in the college fraternity experience, I did some research and came across The Creed. As I read it over, I found myself stopping and connecting the core values of SigEp to my core values. I found myself connecting those core values to the men that I had met that were already Brothers in Sigma Phi Epsilon. But most importantly, I found myself connecting the values of SigEp to the values that I wanted to stand for at all points of my life. These values, VIRTUE, DILIGENCE, and BROTHERLY LOVE, have made all the difference for me.

As Rush Week begins at the University of Cincinnati, I want to share with you one quote from The Creed; one that makes all the difference for me. While we no longer employ a pledge model system at the majority of our chapters across the country, if you replace the word 'neophyte' with the words 'college man,' these words ring as true as they did on the day they were written:

"I believe that a man will be made better for having been a member of my Fraternity. I know that I cannot expect the neophyte to be a finished product. Rather I will try to discover whether or not the environment and contact with men of high ideals will make of him a good fraternity man."

What is sport?

What are sports? What is the value of sport? Why should we define it? How would you define sports?  Is cheer leading a sport?  Chess?  Motor car racing?  Basketball? What does it take to classify something as a “sport”? How do you determine if something is a sport or not? What model of sport do you subscribe to?Who is effected by sports?  What effected the development of sport in the past? What contributes to the development of sport today?

In my mind, sports are competitive activities that bring people together based on a common vision of success and shared talents. I believe that sports have evolved with the changing development of human kind. With the development of technologies and the cultivation of an increasingly connected world, best practices, tools, and routines can be shared with people everywhere. When I think of the value of sport, I first think of the world of collegiate athletics. What would the University of Cincinnati be without football and basketball? Would students still come together and unite in a community the way that we are able to currently? Would we have a particular connection to our alma mater upon graduation? Would be give of our time and talents as alumni? I don't know that a value can be assigned to collegiate athletics. There are some very profitable programs out there, and some that aren't so profitable, but the intrinsic value that athletics bring to a campus is undeniable. Looking at the NCAA Core Values, the second value is "The supporting role that intercollegiate athletics plays in the higher education mission and enhancing the sense of community and strengthening the identity of member institutions." If research was done, and I am sure it has been, 

Looking back to my earlier definition of sports, I believe that any activity that fosters a competitive nature while bringing like-talented people together, is a sport. Do most people in today's world call chess a sport? Probably not. But I believe that chess is a sport. It brings like-talented people together while building a sense of competition and success. I think it is important to recognize that sport is different from athletics. If we look at the origin of the word athlete, according to the "Philosophy of Sport" PowerPoint, (athlein--to contend; to suffer) then I think that we see that our current view of athletes is different from the original view. Do chess players contend and suffer, especially in the agony of defeat? Absolutely. 

In the past, the development of sport was fostered by necessity. One of the first examples of sport was hunting. People hunted to eat, and ultimately, to survive. In today's world, sport is not always driven by necessity, but rather by a sense of accomplishment and well being. Does LeBron play basketball in order to survive? I would answer that by saying "No. He doesn't play basketball in order to survive." Do his skills put food on the table for he and his family? They most certainly do, but there are other career paths he could have taken that would have the same net effect. It is my belief that LeBron plays basketball because he genuinely loves the game and because he wants to be the best he can be. His decision to sign with Miami was driven by his perceived notion of accomplishment. He wanted to put himself in position to accomplish the ultimate goal of every NBA player: winning an NBA Title.

Lastly, if we look at the world around us, we will see that everyone, regardless of participation, is affected by sport. Everyone from the owners of franchises that work to build a successful team, to the owners of hotels that benefit from the travel of fans and teams. And then you have people that live in developing nations. For many of them, sport is what they can rally around. Take the Iraqi National Soccer team for example. In 2004 they qualified for the first ever Olympic Games. While this is a great accomplishment for many countries out there, it was especially meaningful for the Iraqi people as they were stuck in a country full of turmoil. Sport bring hope, admiration, and happiness to lives across the world every day in ways that we probably cannot even imagine. I cannot picture a world without sport; can you?

Breaking the Broken Funding Model: A short-term fix that causes long-term problems

With the recent addition of a provision in the state budget that will allow out-of-state students to pay in-state tuition,the state legislature seems to be breaking the already broken university funding model.

Under the new provision, out-of-state students could register to vote in Ohio and then be eligible for in-state tuition after only 30 days. As it currently stands, in order to be eligible for in-state tuition, a student must either graduate from an Ohio high school or have a parent that lives in-state.

If the budget moves forward as is, state universities could lose up to $272 million in annual operating funds. For a school such as the University of Cincinnati, the potential loss is to the tune of $41.7 million, or more than four percent of it's annual operating budget.

Universities can avoid this provision if they choose not to provide documentation to students looking to register to vote in Ohio. But don't universities exist so that students can further their education? Participating in the electoral process is a method of education. Voting is a privilege that students should unequivocally have access to. And universities, as drivers to education, should be able to encourage that learning process without any penalties. But that is the political side of things. In my mind, the more important issue is the willingness of the legislature to cut funding sources from public institutions of higher education.

Over the past few decades the state share of funding for public universities in Ohio has drastically declined. State public schools now receive less than 15% of their operational budget from the State of Ohio. How have schools made up for this reduction in funding? Well, they have raised tuition, levied program or department fees, and relied more on other modes of funding including research grants and private donors.

The bigger question here though, is how will this reduction in revenue affect the quality of the education that students receive at state schools. With less funding will state schools be able to offer the same quality of a classroom education to all students? Will state schools be able to offer, at a high level, all of the services that students currently have access to?

The quick answer to both of those questions is no. Anytime there is a cut in funding, the student experience is hurt in some way or another. Classroom sizes might grow. Attention to individuals might fade. Programs may be cut. Additional fees may be levied. Tuition may rise. Students will suffer.

If the State of Ohio wants its' college students to stay in Ohio and continue to advance the state, then they won't pass the budget as it currently stands. These changes could negatively impact the student experience to a point where students don't want to live in Ohio any longer. Why, someday down the road, should I send my children to a state school that offers an inferior product when I can live in a different state and send my kids to a school that has more resources and a better student experience because it is funded better?

The bottom line is this: allowing out-of-state students to pay in-state tuition, while beneficial to those students, hurts universities at-large. Reducing the amount of funding that schools can bring in will negatively affect the quality of education available to students.

The funding model is already broken, so why break it even more?

A Major League Coming Out Party

So in case you haven't heard, today, for the first time in the history of the four male, major professional American sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL) an active player has come out. Now normally when we think of a professional athlete's coming out party, we think of their first big impact game; the game where they score 30 points, throw for 5 touchdowns, or net a hat trick. Not the off-season day where a professional athlete reveals to the world that he is gay. Today, April 29th, 2013, Jason Collins, a free agent center in the NBA, has announced to the world that he is gay.

From Stanford to the NBA, Collins has been setting records and exceeding expectations. At Stanford, while shooting 60.8% from the field, Jason set the record high for field goal percentage. In the 2004-2005 NBA season, Collins led the league in personal fouls. He has been a key asset for each team with which he has played. Now Jason has set a new standard. He has set the standard for professional male athletes when it comes to living their true lives. But more than that, Jason has become a role model for all people, regardless of athletic affiliation.

I have the utmost respect for Mr. Collins. Not only is he blazing a trail that no one before him has been brave enough to blaze, but he is doing it at a critical point in his career. For all intents and purposes, he is unemployed. As a free agent, he is not guaranteed a roster spot for the next NBA season. As a 34 year old center, he is quickly approaching the end of his long and storied career. But he wants to keep playing. And I would argue that, as long as he is physically capable of competing, he should keep playing the game he loves.  The question is, will teams accept him for who he is, and sign him to a contract?

While reading the Sports Illustrated article that Jason himself wrote, I was impressed by his words and actions:

• Over the past two years he has worn the number 98 in remembrance of the hate crime that was committed in 1998 against Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student. 
• His loyalty to his team is the reason that he didn't come out sooner. While the thoughts of teammates, fans, or friends shouldn't matter when it come to sexual orientation, the unfortunate reality today is that is does. So instead of thinking only about himself and his needs and wants, Jason unselfishly took into account the affect of his decisions on those around him. Again, it shouldn't have to be this way, but Jason chose to lead with integrity and thoughtfulness.
• Jason is a free agent. There is no guarantee that he will play in the NBA next season, but he had the courage to come out with faith that teammates, owners, and coaches won't care about his orientation. They shouldn't.

I would hope, for all that is good in the world, that teams will recognize Jason's talent and choose to scoop him up out of free agency. I'll be honest, I have never followed the career of Jason Collins, and I don't know that if at 34 years old he is past his prime, but if he isn't and is still able to play the game at a competitive level he should still be playing. As The University of Cincinnati Student Athletes and Athletic Director say: If you can play, you can play.

Jason, I thank you for the example that you set for the rest of the world. You are a role model and inspiration to all. I am not really a fan of the NBA; I think that too much emphasis is placed on the individual. Today, the emphasis was taken off the individual and placed on the broader rights that each and every human is entitled to. There are many things bigger than professional sports. Equality for all is one of them.

Restarting the Blog

So it's finals week, and like all good college students, I am spending countless hours a day trying to avoid studying. Tonight, I had the brilliant idea to resurrect my blog and begin to post regularly. I have tried to do this in the past, but haven't set a posting schedule or had a clear vision of where I wanted to take the blog.

I think I have that now.

I can't promise that all of my posts will be related to one another; I'm not going to blog about just food, sports, leadership, or the University of Cincinnati. But I will blog about food, sports, leadership, and the University of Cincinnati, among many other subjects. I'll post one blog a week about something that has really hit home with me at some point in the past seven days.

My words may not be eloquent  succinct  or 100% thought out. My words will reflect my thoughts, be from the heart, and be solely my thoughts. So expect to see a new post sometime by Monday (it may be tonight if I get really bored with studying or stop finding entertainment in NCIS...).