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.
