Role Models Are a Joke

It's disgusting that athletes are pressured to buy in to the hype of being role models, especially the black athlete. The NBA and NFL are both run by "good ole boy" sympathizers who don't practice what they preach. When was the last time David Stern or Roger Goodell showed up in the projects without a player in tow? When was the last time either of them visited a high school or middle school or elementary school in inner city Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, Oakland, St. Louis, Philadelphia or Compton? When?

They want these players to be role models, but they aren't doing it themselves. Much like the record industry whose executives look for irresponsible talent to promote, as long as their label is making money, who cares if the artist gets in trouble with the law? Who cares if the artist gets strung out on cocaine or alcohol? But back to the issues at hand, role models. The behavior of some athletes has been down right shameful over the years. The shootings, the drug and alcohol use, the domestic violence have all been despicable to say the least. Where more money is given, the worse the behavior it seems. But the organizations want them to be role models. Please.

Players are not role models, parents are. And who says that every child needs a role model outside of the home. The NBA doesn't have the right to make that decision. As a parent, who happens to be a black man, I don't want another person to be my child's role model. I want my values and beliefs, and morals to influence my child. I don't need or want LeBron or Kobe or Adrien Peterson to have any influence on my child.

I recall during the civil unrest (riot) in Los Angeles after the acquittal of the cops who beat the shiznik out of Rodney King, that the local ABC news affiliate rounded up black children to take them on a field trip into Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades to show them how well to do [white] people lived. There are plenty of blacks, largely in the entertainment industry who live in these areas also, but that was not the intent of the news piece. I was appalled - enough to contact that station to 'bless out' the newsroom producer's rear end. I told him that how dare they take these kids to these other affluent communities when there are several in the South Los Angeles area that are predominantly black. Baldwin Hills, View Park, Windsor Hills, Blair Hills, and Ladera Heights all have views of downtown with a Mercedes in every other garage, and a black family that has had higher levels of successes. Well to do Black people who decided to stay on the "black side" of town.

The PGA, WTA, and the NHL don't seem to participate in the role model game, except Tiger, Venus and Serena. Guess those sports aren't black enough - yet. The moral of this article is to the black athletes: let the heads of the NBA, WNBA, and NFL and their corporate offices "give back". You as a player, quietly give where your heart tells you to, not to the request or demand of the league office or your pastor, and be a role model to your own kids. Your comments are welcome.