I think a smart athlete would still know that he can get more endorsement money if he's someone whose jersey parents want their kids wearing though. They have to be able to sell tickets and merchandise to keep getting payed to play the game. Or maybe the meltdown will help sell tickets, like people going to the stock-car races hoping to see a crash. I don't know, just thinking aloud again.

Next time I play softball and I strike out because the ump is making a bad call; well, I think I will just pick up a bat and smash the dugout phone like a crazed lunatic madman!! And IT'S OK!! Because the ump made a bad call and David Ortiz did it too when the ump made a bad call for him! *sarcastically Joking*

Since S2000magician is evidently predisposed with less important matters, I'll pedantically point out that a "roll" model would be Vanna White showing off pastry products.

Predictable am I?

People are human beings.

It is possible that sports heros should not be held up on the pedistools they are in the first place?

We are so quick to elevate people to these positions, and even quicker to tear them down. Why?

The dude had a melt down. Is anyone saying he was right to do so? I for one am not.

Is anyone saying that this is how we teach kids to act? I for one am not.

But the man is human. Show me where the majority of his actions are in this vein. Show me where this is habit and custom and he is a bad human being. Show me where as a whole he can be judged to be a bad roll model. ONE incident during a time of stress is not how we should judge people. He harmed nobody. If you are a parent and worried about it then use it as a teachable moment and tell the kids why it is wrong and why he should strive to be different.

Don't just condemn the man.

And don't put him on the pedistool as a roll model!

Unless he deserves to be there for more reasons than an ability to hit a ball.

Whether he deserves to be there or not is not an important question. The reality is that he is there as a role model and kids look up to him whether he wants to be that role model or not and whether he deserves to be there or not. He has to be careful how he acts or his actions can have serious consequences not only on his career but how others who emulate his actions and what they perceive to be OK.

People look up to these ball players and they have to be conscious of how they act. Given their status, they will have to hold themselves to a higher standard and forget their old standards of conduct that some of these ball players may still be used to. With status and wealth comes a higher responsibility and you are held to a higher standard whether you wish to be or not. In many ways, it's like being a police officer, you are held to a higher standard in your conduct given that you enforce the law and are a public figure in the public eye. People will judge on what is OK based on how police officers conduct themselves because cops are the law and the standard.

Ha haa! Now THAT was funny!

Doug

General you can't hold people to that standard just because parents are too lazy to parent. It is not the way it works sorry.

Strange how parents simply don't want to parent any more.

I kind of remember baseball losing a lot of money after the whole steroid fiasco. I think public image is still important. People want heroes to cheer for, that's (mostly?)why they buy the tickets (I think.) Strictly from a financial standpoint, I can see why a sports club wants their players to behave.
I don't follow sports as much as I'd like, so I may be way off-base (nyuk, nyuk.) These are just my thoughts.

But we can hold them to that standard because they are adult Major League baseball players who are looked up to by many people in society and who have status and wealth. They are on TV all the time and children also look up to these ball players. Just like a Chief of Police can hold his officers to a higher standard because they enforce the law and in order to be effective at enforcing the law, his officers must meet that higher standard on a consistent basis because they are always in the public eye all the time. Why should a police officer have the legal authority to arrest somebody for DUI if he gets trashed in a bar and then jumps in his car and drives drunk for all to see? That's a double standard.

People who are in positions of authority or who have wealth, status or fame, whether they come from broken homes or were real dirt bags before they achieved that position are role models and because they are now role models, they are going to have to hold themselves to that higher standard despite what background they came from or what excuses they might have for any poor behavior. The reality is that when you are in that kind of position, you have to start holding yourself to a higher standard or eventually you are going to face serious consequences for not doing so and those consequences can spread and affect other people too. So it's not just about that one person in question. And if that person in question values his career or position or status, then he will start holding himself to that higher standard.

Just like Paula Deen. She is a great cook but she did not hold herself to a higher standard of behavior and paid the price. It's just what happens when you get that kind of status and wealth and don't meet those higher standards. You are held to a higher standard when you have that kind of status whether you want to be or not. You are going to be held to that standard when you are in that kind of position in society. People might not like it, but it still doesn't change that fact of reality.

I agree with some of what General_Magician is saying.

Bogart said something like - "the only thing we owe the public is a good performance."

I agree with that - however there is also something to be said about acting like or being a "professional" in one's choice of profession. I would not like to read about a close up magician that blew a trick and because of this he took that trick and placed it on a table in the restaurant he was working that night. Then picked up a chair and smashed the trick in front of restaurant customers. I would not think that was being "professional" no matter how good the magician was.

In my opinion there is a professional attitude that should be part of the job and how one acts toward others in their every day life.

We often don't choose to be role models, situations and moral considerations thrust it upon us. How we take that responsibility says a lot about our characters.

You may think it safe to jaywalk, but at the moment there are a number of younger children standing at the corner with you. You are an instant role model. You have an unexpected influence on these children. What do you do?

Ice hockey players always get in a punch up in the game, right?

How's that for role modelling?