My thoughts are: if you are an athlete in the public eye, you are a role model to our youth. You have a job to do: to set a good example for the next generation. Many may not agree with me. That's okay - this is America.
Having a gift and being fortunate enough to be paid as a professional to use that gift is a dream that never materializes for most. For those who have achieved that dream, one would think that enjoying the success and staying in top form (physically, mentally, spiritually and ethically) would be a priority in order to enjoy the good fortune for many years.
Having said all of that, what in the world are the Bengals doing in the off-season? I was holding back, watching, trying not to make any judgments until official rulings had been made. Well, one was made: http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?Story_id=5344
I have three Bengals jerseys from last season that are a bit too big on me (yes, I know - lose 50 lbs and everything is going to be too big). I was debating which one to get in a smaller size for the warm games this year. My decision just got a bit easier: 51 will not be in the running. Until I get an acceptable explanation for the above story, I will not wear 51 again.
On occasion, I bring my niece and nephew to the games. I see them watching the players & the cheerleaders, absorbing all of the activity as potentials for their future. Someone who is throwing their gift & their ethics away and trying to pass it off as "being an okay thing to do" is not what I want them to see as acceptable for their futures.
Will my boycotting apparel with #51 make a difference? Maybe not, but it may make my kids think twice. If more people take the same stand, it may make #51, and other players like him, think twice as well.
Support crappy role models? Not on my watch. . .
Namaste.
"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning." - Catherine Aird
No comments:
Post a Comment