Should superstars, whether in sports or any walk of life, be role models?
One of the blogs I check periodically is called Dugout Central, it is a collection point of writings by many people about baseball. One .recent post this week by a writer named Teddy Mitrosilis caught my attention. He writes about Manny Ramirez's "rehab" in Albuquerque and wonders outloud whether Manny coulda/shoulda done things differently. He speculates how great an opportunity it would have been for Manny to either connect with fans by signing autographs etc. as well as connecting with the minor league players and giving them insight into what it takes to make the jump to the majors and allow them to get a glimpse of what they are trying to elevate to. Here is a quote from Teddy's post:
He should have played his four innings, and then hung out with the other minor leaguers for the last five. He should have spent those five innings talking with the hitters, giving them two hours of total access to ask any question a kid would want to ask about hitting to one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game.
He should have spent the other five innings coaching. He should have paid attention to the other minor leaguers’ at-bats, and then talked to them about pitch sequence and approach when they came back in the dug out.
He should have had steaks and beers delivered to the clubhouse after the game – on his dime – and sat around with the rest of the guys telling them what life is like in the big leagues.
For all of Ramirez’s faults, he has a reputation of being a tireless worker. He should have sat around with the boys, enjoying a rib eye, explaining to them exactly what it takes to not only get to the big leagues, but also stick there.
He should have talked to them about all the fun you have in The Show, but also the professionalism and dedication it takes to taking care of your body and being ready to perform.
You don’t think those minor league players would have been hanging on every story and every line? That would have been like Bring Your Dad To School Day in the second grade. Those words would have actually made a difference.
You could argue that Manny should have gotten to the ballpark early, and stayed late to sign autographs for all of the fans that want them. That would have been a nice gesture, but I’m not going to say that he has to do that. Hey, if he wants to say thanks to the people who pay his salary and support him, that’s up to him.
But it’s not up to him to give his time to his current teammates. He owes that to them. He’s walking into their yard, taking the at-bats and outfield reps from a young kid who could use them to develop and chase a dream, all while he is suspended for testing positive.
What is the responsibility of the superstar?
I don't believe there is a responsibility to be a role model...but I do believe it would be great for everybody if more superstars took it upon themselves to do more with their status.
I am not talking about giving money, so many athletes, actors, musicians etc all give tons of money to great charities and causes. I'm talking about role models.
Again -not required but in the quote above, how great for those minor leaguers would it have been if Manny did any of those things while in Albuquerque?
Yesterday pop icon Michael Jackson passed away. While he obviously had nothing to do with sports, his passing raises the same type of questions. When MJ was at the top of the world, mid to late 80's, he made life changing choices that will be questioned forever. His influence, across traditional racial lines, was immense. Unfortunately, in my opinion, he started getting "weird" on the world and lost the opportunity to be a role model that could have affected many many people.
Celebrity brings riches and popularity by default. How any person handles that tranformation is anybody's guess. More and more, today's youth need role models out of the celebrity pages doing more of the right things.
I have heard the argument that the role model should be the parents. I agree as the primary role models. Parents, grandparents, siblings, uncles, aunts, teachers all should be present and role models to some degree. Unfortunately, as a father of 5, I am not Superman, Derek Jeter, Brad Pitt, Lebron James or Barack Obama. Role models come from fiction, and from real life, they should make a person dream, dream to be better or great at something.
My role models growing up were sports related, Fred Lynn and Larry Bird. Lynn to me was the young, talented athlete that enjoyed what he did. I wanted to make diving catches like Lynn in centerfield and hit so effortlessly like he did. Larry Bird was the superstar that continued to work harder than everybody else to improve when he was already at the top of his profession. These two shaped my teenage years and likely added some values to who I was becoming. The didn't get busted doing something stupid, they didn't (publicly)get in trouble. I never met them or had any real interaction with them but it didn't matter, they were role models to me.
It is increasingly hard to find public figures that you would want your kids to have as role models, that is why I posted today.
