Quote:
Originally posted by DeltAlum
I'm making a really big generality here, for which I have no proof except my own personal experience in TV Production over many years.
There are a lot of athletes; pro, college and high school, who are not role models. In fact, they're self centered jerks -- not nice at all. I wouldn't go so far as to say "most," but a lot. More than you would run into in normal, everyday life, percentage wise.
There is an extraordinary number of pampered prima-donnas.
To be fair, there are also some very good ones as well -- including those who volunteer and turn our for community service and/or form their own foundations.
To make a blanket statement that "athletes are role models" is misguided, though.
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Definitely, and perception isn't always reality. It works both ways; some guys get lauded even though they're not good people, and some get the short end of the stick, even if they're perfectly good people.
Now, (and this is NOT an attack on the media), but a big part of it is how the athletes portray themselves in the media, and how the media portrays them. I've been lucky enough to meet a few pro athletes in different situations, and in at least two situations, the athlete was NOTHING like his public image. They were often portrayed as malcontentd and problems, but I had a perfectly nice interaction with them. One athlete, I had a few interactions, and he was extremely nice and friendly each time.
The truth is, you can't know. You get one nasty columnist, or one unfortunate event, and someone's image is in the toilet.