Sometimes
you can't tell whether you're reading the sports pages or the crime
report.
Shortly before the Super Bowl, all pro-defensive player Ray Lewis stood
trial for double murder. While the prosecution dismissed the other charges,
Lewis pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, admitting that he lied
to the police during their double homicide investigation.
Meanwhile, former Green Bay Packer tight end, Mark Chmura, stood trial
for sexual assault and child enticement. A seventeen-year-old accused
him of raping her. While the jury sided with the defense, the foreman
said, "[Chmura] put himself in a bad situation by being drunk with kids
and in a hot tub in his underwear... We all agreed that they were in
the bathroom together. But we donŐt really know what took place."
Role models, anyone? In Pros and Cons, The Criminals That Play in the
NFL, authors Jeff Benedict and Don Yeager, estimate that of the 1996/97
NFL players, 21% competed with criminal records, up to and including
allegations of rape and assault. (Among non-football-playing young men,
15% have criminal records.) This means that 79% of players possess clean
records. Still, the sports role model pool seems a tad shallow.
Here's the problem. The type of person and attitude required to succeed
in sports–especially violent sports like football–make athletes,
almost by definition, a tough sell as role models. Sports psychologist
Julian Morrow says, "What makes a player successful on the field–anger,
risk-taking, limited impulse control–may not make him someone you
want living next door."
In May, 1998, "Sports Illustrated" featured an article on the number
of NBA players with children out of wedlock. While there have been no
studies on athletes and their out-of-wedlock children, insiders say
the numbers are staggering. "I'd say that there might be more kids out
of wedlock than there are players in the NBA," says one of the league's
top agents, who claims he spends more time dealing with paternity claims
than he does negotiating contracts. Len Elmore, an ESPN broadcaster
and former NBA player worked as an agent but says he quit in part because
of a "lack of responsibility" among his clients. "For numbers, I would
guess that one [out-of-wedlock child] for every player is a good ballpark
figure," says Elmore. "For every player with none, there's a guy with
two or three."
Some players just don't get it. Ray Lewis' teammate, Shannon Sharpe
ripped "Wheaties" for leaving Lewis' photo off a cereal box that included
other members of the Super Bowl-winning team.
And remember when National Basketball Association's Latrell Sprewell
assaulted his coach? The team terminated him, but the union went to
bat and successfully argued that Sprewell's firing violated his contract.
A quick firing awaits most employees who attempt to choke their boss.
But, this is sports. As for Sprewell, he now toils for a better team,
in a bigger city, and makes more money. Life is good.
Former New York Yankee relief pitcher Steve Howe, a drug addict, relapsed
not one, not two, not three, but seven times-–that we know about–-yet
the Yankees kept him on the payroll. Tough to find good relief pitchers,
you know.
And in last year's Super Bowl, the St. Louis Rams linebacker Leonard
Little played. Earlier that season, Little pleaded guilty to involuntary
manslaughter for driving under the influence and causing an accident
that resulted in the death of a St. Louis mother. His sentence? Ninety
days in jail, but the judge allowed Little to serve some time on work
release.
But don't sports breed character? Not according to Texas Christian University
anthropologist Andrew Miracle, Ph.D., and Adelphi University sociologist
C. Roger Rees, Ph.D. In Lessons of the Locker Room, they searched the
scientific literature for evidence to support the "sports build character"
theory–and struck out. Miracle said, "Generally involvement in
any extracurricular activity is a good thing, but sports are no better
than band or chorus. The danger is that the 'win at any cost' attitude
becomes so significant that the potential positive benefits are overwhelmed...[Sports]
doesn't do most of the things people claim it does, but it sure is good
entertainment."
How can we tell whether the athlete's character on the screen translates
into good character off the field? In the 1971 Book of Lists, guess
whom both boys and girls, fifth grade through high school, named as
the No. 1 hero or heroine? O. J. Simpson. That's right. For both boys
and girls.
A true role model remains someone you know and who cares about you.
This means parents, relatives, friends, members of the clergy–people
whose character you know, trust and respect. But sometimes the search
must end with you. Someone once asked respected Hall of Fame baseball
player Frank Robinson whom he admired. Robinson paused and said, "Frank
Robinson."