During the past week, it was revealed that America’s golden boy, Michael Phelps was caught smoking pot. Pictures of him surfaced on the Internet and just like that, his reputation took a dramatic hit. He lost a few endorsements and the age old debate came up again whether athletes should be role models or not.
Being a sports fan, I have always admired high profile athletes such as Phelps for their incredible talent and especially the amount of training and work that goes into being a top notch athlete. It takes a special person to want to pay that price that these guys go through. However, I have never gone so far as to worship these guys. They put on their pants the same way as everyone else does and face the same temptations and problems that normal people do. I just get sick of people bowing down to these people like they are kings of the world.
Whether you agree with me or not, I definitely think sports stars are role models whether they like it or not and should be careful about the way they act away from their profession. Since they are constantly in the public view, many people especially young children and adults can be influenced by their actions. I just feel that being a top notch athlete can be more rewarding that just winning a gold medal or a championship. It can also mean touching many people with the way you conduct yourself away from the playing field. Unfortunately in this day and age, this seems to be a forgotten thing.
Mark's Views 