Term Papers on Why Athletes Are Good Role Models

Term Paper Title	Why Athletes Are Good Role Models
# of Words	1388
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.55

Why Athletes Are Good Role Models

     Ever since the ancient years, we have admired athletes and the hard work
that they do to achieve their goal of winning.  We idolize them and wish we were
more like them.  What happens  though when the realization sinks in that they
are human too and that some of them do get  greedy and selfish?  A lot of
athletes are model citizens that you should really look up to, but there are
also some bad apples in the bunch that ruin it for everyone.  Athletes can
inspire young people to work hard so that their efforts can pay off, but no one
is pure and flawless.  Greed does take a hold of some players, but they
shouldn't be the ones we devote all of our attention to.  We should look at the
positive things that people do.  The media does not go around reporting all of
the good things that these people do, just the  bad things and their mistakes.
They are only human just like the rest of us.  Are these people  safe  for our
children to idolize to look up to?  I think that the answer is YES!

     If you were watching the news, would you really want to hear about all
of the charities that an athlete has donated money to?  It would be interesting
at first, but you would get tired of it afterwards.  That is why the media never
covers anything like this.  We all know that they really don't care about
anything else except for a hot topic.  The truth really does not mean anything
to them.  This we notice in all the cases that the media jumps to wrongful
conclusions, such as the Richard Jewel case and the Olympic bombing and the TWA
flight 800 that blew up over New York.  The media jumped to numerous conclusions
that had us lost.  Do you think these people worry about what fund raiser
Michael Jordan attended and about what Shaquille O'Neal did on Thanksgiving for
the needy?  No.  They are more interested in what color Dennis Rodman's hair is
and what he wore last night at Excalibur.

     I had to go through days of research to find out that Chicago Bears star
Chris Zorich has started a full scholarship at Notre Dame for inner city youths
that get accepted to the school, but can't afford it.  He plays for our city's
football team, and we have not heard of any of his philanthropic efforts.  He
also has an annual food drive for the needy around Thanksgiving.  I read about
that in a little column in the newspaper.  Would he have been accused of theft
or assault, he would have had a front page article and the whole back page of
the Chicago Sun-Times to himself.  Shaquille O'Neal bought over 1,000 turkeys
and gave to needy families all across the nation on Thanksgiving.  I did not
hear one mention of that in the news.  They are making us believe that all
athletes are bad people with their propaganda.  If they spent half the time
covering the good-hearted stories that they do the bad ones, we would have a
different opinion on the hard working athlete.

     Michael Jordan has started a foundation that donates money for research
to help physically challenged children.  He has been running up the tabs at
Atlantic City casinos, but who hasn't gambled?  We are not perfect.  Michael may
gamble, but he does his share of helping and works hard for what he has acquired.
Gambling is no crime, so then he is not showing us a negative thing.  If
parents disapprove of him gambling, then they should outlaw it because he is not
doing anything wrong.  Michael, and other athletes as well, is aware that he is
constantly being watched by millions and tries to act accordingly.

     There has been a major controversy in the NBA lately thanks to Charles
Barkley and his claim in an interview that he is not a role model, but that is
the job of the parent.  He says that parents shouldn't be blaming the athletes
if they can't control their own children.  Another person that agrees with this
notion is football and basketball star Deion Sanders.  Barkley has paid over
$80,000 in fines over a period of two years.  He is known for getting very
aggressive and violent at times.  No one is asking...

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