Athletes as Role Models
The media's role in the portrayal of athletes as role models in history
ay it ain't so, Joe.' During the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal, in which the team deliberately 'threw' the World Series for a bribe, the players' betrayal was depicted as being particularly hurtful to young people who idolized the SOX (Everstein 1998). Babe Ruth was also portrayed as a hero during this era, as he slugged out record numbers of hits, often specifically asked to do so by his adoring young fans. Even today, whenever a new scandal about an athlete erupts, from steroids to Michael Phelps smoking pot, the media seldom portrays this as bad behavior by an individual. Rather it is portrayed as cultural event, and a betrayal of all the fans, particularly the young fans, of the sport. As athletics have become more and more central to everyday life -- and more and more lucrative -- the moral expectations for athletes have grown, even while people are daily reminded that many athletes are role models with feet of clay, guilty of everything from dog-fighting to weapons possession and even murder.
From the time they could be picked out of a lineup because of their exceptional athletic ability, they've been pampered and catered to by coaches, classmates, teammates, family members and partners. As they get older, this becomes a pattern. Because they're spoiled, they feel they aren't accountable for their behaviors off the field. They're so used to people looking the other way" (Ma 2007). The media lionizes athletes because part of the compelling nature of sports is the drama of the individual triumphing over the odds, by breaking a long-standing record or winning a championship. Inevitably, when a single figure is 'built up' so much, whenever he or she commits a transgression, the media will be quick to tear him or her down, since this is also a good story. The fact that athletes are frequently thrust into the limelight very young and have poor emotional and psychological coping skills to deal with fame and the responsibilities of handling large amounts of money further contributes to the apparent betrayal…
