Daddy Dave – The whole idea of sportspeople being role models is a fantasy of the sporting establishment: a bureaucracy made up of retired athletes. They have an inflated idea of the importance of their profession on society at large, and impose draconian punishments on young sportsmen and women in the mistaken belief that it makes any difference at all.
Unfortunately, it is not a fantasy. We strive to see young people grow up healthy, popular, competive, attractive, moral, and well educated. We cut slack if someone misses the mark somewhat in one or more of those areas, or is strong in only one or two but clearly standout from the rest in one or two areas of strength that turn out to be “enough” to have a very good life ahead of them. And maybe too much, we make those “exemplars” role models – even if we really want kids going to be good in all areas rather than hoping they are more like “Mr Quiz Kid” or the dumb as rocks running back showcased for 3 years and getting a Div 1A Scholarship, or the completely immoral, popular but stupid cheerleader you know is headed for Hollywood or porn films or marriage to a real rich guy.
The plump little dweeb with 800 SATs will likely be a success, but many parents would prefer them to be – given a choice, an attractive, popular athlete with a solid “B” average??
Somehow, adults seem to focus later-life resentments on “Jocks” who turn out less than morally pure, do stupid things (Here’s looking at you, Plexico and Ray Lewis), get fat, don’t find success or popularity after their sports years end, or…God help us…do drugs that provide recreation or give them a chance to spend more years competitive or in the case of pros..competitive enough or around longer so they make more money..(Steroids meant better pay and longer terms of being employed).
We don’t do that with those adults who excel in areas we want kids to excel in outside sports.
How many people rise up and denounce the latest Hollywood starlet bound for rehab as a failed role model, though every Mom secretly wanted their daughter to turn out as popular and gorgeous as the cheerleader who was already doing modeling and minor acting gigs at 16?
How many people indignantly denounced Bernie Madoff as a “failed role model” for kids?
Or the Korean scientists who had brilliant scholastic records other kids and parents envied, but who committed scientific fraud?
The superpopular charismatic guy who fathered 7 kids out of wedlock and was behind bars by age 23. Why is he not denounced as a “failed role model” by huffy journalists?
The truth is we adapted this bizarre journalistic convention early on, just as sports and mass media intersected, and made a bargain…sportsmen would be elevated to heroes over others with great success in using attributes we wanted in our kids..They would be proxies for the success or failure of whole high schools, universities, cities, even nations by their victories and defeats. Meaningless statistics would be compiled and give testimony to some “greatness, a significant record!” – but in return, the athletes would comply with the Moral Code that journalists embedded into the meme…the 100-year long narrative.
Not something they did with dumb royals like Lady Di, rock stars with their dicks hanging out, violent killer celebrity criminals or revolutionaries, Hollywood sluts, and high-profile CEOs, scientists, or Italian sanitation company owners…who the journalists actually liked having some ‘badness’, ‘dangerous aura’ – clinging to them.
Sometimes politicians were held to athlete “hero” Moral Standards, but not unless it was so open and obvious that the journalists and writers HAD to lay the moral law down. Meanwhile, the same cabal had risen to celebrity status themselves and yet no one went after Bernstien on his sex harassment pleas, Geraldo on his immoral exploitative sleaze, Moyers for milking public funds to enrich himself…and so on..
I treat Phelps as no big deal. For me, the thing that will be remembered is he was part of the relay that Jason Lezak swam the miracle leg that will be on the OLympic highlights forever, and Sarah Hughes only got one medal, and barely got Gold. But her final program in 2002 was like Bob Beamons long jump – a magical elevation beyond what had ever been done before in their athletic performance. That would not be diminished if I hear later that age 30, Hughes gets popped for failing to get her 2009 taxes right or was spotted smoking a joint. Big deal!
