Role models, they account for 90% of the merchandise sold throughout the U.S. and other countries. Whether they are singers, musicians, actors and actresses, models, comedians or sports figures, you find a young person with a favorite and their room will have posters, games, CDs, DVDs, and magazines having to do with that particular role model. What happens, then, when that role model is caught in a situation involving drugs or alcohol?
Some do the wise thing. They own up to it and use it as a life lesson for their fans. Others only own up to it after being caught, some even naming names to either look better or more likely, to take some of the heat off of themselves. Many are caught in a cycle where scandal sells, with many fans and the paparazzi forgetting that they are people, too.
Take baseball. Steroid use has run rampant in baseball for decades. A talent like Pete Rose is banned from the Hall of Fame for gambling. Yet we have players in it who would not have qualified as great players without the use of steroids. Sort of an oxymoron, like telling players it is okay to cheat, it is not okay to gamble, which again is a double standard because of all the fantasy league games that go on.
Take football. Several players have been busted for failing urine tests. No, not over steroid use, but for pot. From Rashaan Salaam of the Chicago Bears, Ricky Williams of the Miami Dolphins, Nate Newman of the Dallas Cowboys (213 pounds of pot found in his van), Carolina Panthers Muhsin Muhammad who served time in jail for violating his parole due to drug possession and a concealed weapon, and quarterback Todd Marinovich of the Raiders who simply decided it was best to grow his own. These are just a few of the ones who blew nearly every boy’s dream and threw it away over pot, proving once again that drugs affect the mind and a person’s common sense.
The argument for the other side is that these guys did not sign up to be role models. They are not thinking about the fact that as children, they sat in awe in front of the television and watched their favorite sports figures or played baseball or football with their friends, dreaming of the day they would be on their favorite team. In the end, being a sports figure has with it a lot of responsibility and like it or not, being a role model is part of that.
Follow your dreams, guys. You made it to the big leagues. Don’t you deserve to see just how far your dream can take you? By saying no to drugs, you not only get to live your dreams out the way you want, you also have the added bonus of encouraging some young boys to follow your example. In the end, that will be the greatest Super Bowl or World Series moment in time you could possibly have.