Argumentative Essay: Pro Athletes As Role Models

There has been an ongoing debate on whether or not athletes should be considered role models. A main trigger to this debate was when Charles Berkley said, “I am not a role model. Parents should be role models. Just because I can dunk a basketball, doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.” when he took part in a Nike campaign back in 1993 (Dobie, 1). This commercial called for a lot of attention directed towards athletes questioning whether they are to be considered role models or not. According to the Mirram-Webster dictionary, an athlete is defined as a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina. Where a role model is defined as someone who another person admires and tries to be like. Athletes should be considered role models even though they may have made decisions that could have negatively impacted their lives.

But today's athletes need to understand that they are being viewed in a light that is much brighter than before” (Lowe, 1). Although most people may believe that neither athletes or celebrities should be role models for children, in the reality they are. Yes, it is unfair to expect an athlete, or any celebrity, to basically be a guide for telling people how to live their lives, but it is part of the price of being famous. It is important for today’s athletes to realize that they don’t have much privacy anymore, and that their fans, and the public in general, will find out about most decisions they make in their lives. “Kids pay attention when an athlete shows up for community service events just as much as they pay attention to an athlete's performance in a game the night before” (Lowe, 2). It’s important for athletes to know that kids are paying attention to them and are looking up to them on and off the field, court, or stadium and that they see and hear about what goes on in athletes