Some people in America believe that making a lot of money make you a role model. This is evident by the fact that people in our society want to rip apart athletes when they make human mistakes. It is as if grown ups believe a distant star athlete has just a much influence over their child as they do.

I am not saying that athletes should not be law abiding citizens. Yet it is too convenient in our society that we blame athletes when kids go wrong. The baseball steroid scandal has brought this issue back into the spotlight. One of the individuals in Congress, and I apologize for not looking his name up, essentially stated that one of the athletes was his kid's role model. I found it profoundly ironic that a member of Congress would make a statement of the kind. This society want to shift the blame unto other people. We all heard excuses such as my kid is a drug dealer because he became addicted to the women and cash lifestyle portrayed in a rap video, or my daughter tried an illegal drug because of a heavy metal song, or engaged in sexual intercourse due to watching a TV show.

Athletes are paid to entertain you and your family, not to raise your kids. If your child does not say that you are their role model, then there is something wrong in your house. Setting the example for your children should begin and end with you. Athletes are examples of hard work that pays off, and maybe that is okay for children to emulate, but we must not look towards individuals on a basketball or tennis court to be the number influence in the lives of our families.

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