Athletes as role models? I'll pass.

It’s no secret I like Ray Lewis.  I enjoy the intensity in which he plays the game of Football and the way he’s led and motivated teams of grown men on the field, every Sunday, September to January for the past 17 years.

He is the greatest Linebacker of all time.

Someday, I hope to have children. And hopefully I’ll have boys and they’ll be able to look at old clips of Ray and appreciate the player he was.

I don’t have anything against having a girl, I would just feel sorry for any little bastard who tried to show up at my door with thoughts of getting on my daughter.

But again, I want my kids to watch Ray because it would allow me to teach them that regardless of whatever sport (hopefully Football, but it doesn’t matter) or activity they choose, they have to approach and prepare in the same manner as he has if they want to be great at it.

What I’m saying is I want my kids to play like Ray Lewis, the Football player I don’t want them to BE Ray Lewis, the person.

Why? Because on January 31, 2000, following a Superbowl XXXIV party in Atlanta, Ray along with some friends were involved in a fight with another group that resulted in the stabbing deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar.

Lewis and his two friends, Reginald Oakley and Joesph Sweeting would end up being question by police and 11 days later, indicted on Murder and Aggravated assault chargers.  The chargers on Lewis were later dismissed as he testified against Oakley and Sweeting.  Lewis then pleaded guilty to a Misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge as he admitted he gave police misleading information on the day of the killings.

Oakley and Sweeting were later acquitted of the chargers.

You see professional athletes are not role models.  They can choose to be if they please as the true worth of a person is not determined by what they do for themselves, but for someone else. 

Athletes can create charities, work with the youth, speak out against issues domestically as well as abroad but they do not owe it to society to do so. Remarkable talents or not, they are still human, just like us, and like humans, they are still capable of adultery, corruption, crime, lying or other sins.

The only mandatory responsibility pro athletes have as role modes is to showcase what can be accomplished if the maximum amount of time and effort is put in the realm of sports.

Charles Barkley was the first athlete as a kid I remember telling me to not be like him and I LOVED him for it.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a Bulls fan and Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time, but Barkley was just REAL you know? 

 Barkley was (and still can be) a womanizer, degenerate gambler and wasn’t shy about fighting or boozing.  The fact that he did those things wasn’t what made him cool to me, it was the fact that he recognized those flaws about himself and was okay with what he was: a human being with vices.  He just happened to be an amazing basketball player.

Frankly that’s all I wanted him to be, it didn’t matter to me what he did off it.  The other stuff is his personal life

For years, we have been putting athletes on a pedestal and idolized them as gods. When things go wrong, our entire world crumbles because we associate their play on the field or court with what we believe is their character off of it thanks to a friendly smile or demeanor on camera and crafty PR work.

 If my kid plays basketball, I want him to practice hard enough to play like Jordan but not be like him as a person because Michael Jordan is an asshole.

I want my kid to run a football like Walter Payton but not be Walter because even HE had his own personal demons with painkillers and extramarital affairs.

I want my kid to be an amazing golfer like Tiger, but not be Tiger, because then he’d spend all his side time messing with Perkins Waitresses once he makes it.

The list goes on: Lombardi, Ruth, Taylor, Bonds, McEnroe, Ali, Strawberry, Irvin, Petino, Sanders, Johnson, Riley, Chamberlain, Halas, Kobe.

All great athletes and coaches, but no one I would keep in my “Top 5 role models” list or would want my kids to be like outside of having their skills.

Role models should be people you know, see and actually have a personal impact in your life.  They should be the ones who have been there for you and will always be there in your heart after they’re gone.

 So on this day that we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, I want to give a shout-out to all the parents, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, siblings, friends, teachers, coaches and mentors.

Keep doing what you’re doing because some may say it, some may not, but the legacy you’re leaving is much more valuable than just some face on TV.