Look up on any kid’s wall across America and you are more than likely to find a poster of his idol. For some kids, it’s the Spice Girls; for other, Martin Luther King; for still others, it’s Marilyn Manson. Regardless of who is up on their wall, these kids are instilling a lot of trust in their idols. They idolize them for different reasons, but the meaning of this idolization stays the same – natural adoration. However, is this adoration and idolization well deserved? How much do we actually know about the people on the wall?
This past fall, the kids from Pennsylvania and around the country sat and pondered how Penn State Head Football Coach Joe Paterno, the man they once idolized, could do something so morally wrong. This past fall, Paterno was fired due to his failure to stop child sexual abuse. He alerted the Penn State University that Defensive Coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, had been seen molesting a boy in the locker-room showers. When the president failed to move the situation to the authorities, Paterno chose not to follow up.
A man once celebrated for making such a huge difference in thousands of kids’ lives at Penn State basically turned a blind eye to sexual molestation of minors. Kids, who grew mesmerized as he took the field with the Nittany Lions, were now left with nothing to do but sit in shock.
What we fans continually fail to understand is that we only know these athletes and coaches by what they do in the field of play for both their team and their community. We don’t know what they think, what they do at home, whom they talk to and what kind of moral compass they really have.
The media makes us vulnerable. At any moment, a story could be released that sends shockwaves through the spine of vigorous admirers and sports fans alike. However it is this same media that pushes people to idolize and admire. Why do they do this? Because the rise and fall of heroes is what the media and sports feed on. A mere month after Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Ryan Braun was awarded the Baseballs M.V.P. award, the story broke that he failed a drug test. One month he was being applauded for his play which represented a new generation of steroid-free baseball. The next he was just another cheater.
The irony of the whole Braun fiasco is that he won his appeal. He was able to prove that the test he received was mishandled and the result was a result of a poor test, not heightened testosterone. The media has the ability to mislead perceptions on athletes in dual ways.
No athlete is exactly whom we know them to be. Even the ones who win a lot can have major flaws. Kobe Bryant may be one of the best basketball players in the world, but he is by no means the best role model in the world. The year after winning his third consecutive NBA Championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant admitted to having an adulterous affair with another woman in Eagle County, Colorado. The female involved told the police that she had been raped; the accusation resulted in Bryant’s arrest. Before the case went to trial, a settlement was reached. What went unsettled was Bryant’s image. No matter how successful he had been, his image will forever be tainted.
Paterno and Bryant, however, are only a few of the people who have shown significant lapses in moral judgment. Other athletes with lapses in moral judgment include Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton (addiction), Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (sexual assault) and Ravens wide receiver Donte Stallworth (involuntary manslaughter). Let’s not be mistaken that there are professional athletes who do, for the most part, serve as excellent role models. But since they are celebrities and not friends or brothers, we will never fully be able to assess whether they are truly an all-around good person. We only perceive these athletes in light of the media, which glamorizes these athletes’ every move.
This limited perception also exists on social media platforms. People tend only to post the pictures and statuses that glamorize their life, telling their social network only the information that will make them look appealing. However, what they will fail to post are pictures of failure or moral wrongdoing. Facebook users and athletes make themselves out the same way. For a Facebook use, his profile picture must depict how cool, hardworking or caring he is; for an athlete, his public image must be depicted the same way. The difference is that while we know our Facebook friends (at least the ones we poke regularly), we don’t know these athletes. We know nothing more about these athletes then their public image leads us to believe. We can’t chat asking them to get lunch so they can tell us about their day. Instead we look for their next Twitter update that tells how they just built a basketball court in the inner city, or moved up to third level prestige on Call of Duty. It’s what they don’t tell, us that makes them difficult to idolize.
In the future children and adults who have famous role models should remind themselves that what they have adoration for is the man in the picture, not the man himself.
