Sunday, February 8, 2009
Athletes and the Media
Recently, Michael Phelps was caught doing drugs, and some pictures were taken. These pictures eventually made their way into the mainstream media. I can't say that I was heartbroken, finding that one of my sports idols was not the person I had at one time perceived him to be, but I was sad and almost in a state of disbelief. I can't imagine what would possess him to do something like that, since everything seemed to be great in his life, having just broken Mark Spitz's record for most gold medals at one Olympics. But, I'm not him, so I can't make judgements about his life, and being in the spotlight can be a lot of pressure. Still that isn't a reason to do drugs, and I don't have any anger toward the media for sharing the pictures. Michael needs to be aware of what he's doing, and must act as if every thing he does will be closely scrutinized, because most things he does will be.
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Blake...do you think that Phelps has to have a greater sense of responsibility? What other athlete [past or present] do you think he should emulate?
ReplyDeleteYes, blake, this was very dissappointing to me also. I know how you feel. Both of these people were people i had looked up to and didn't think they would do that. Maybe we need tyo find some other people to idolize. Michael Jordan played fair and didn't use any illegel substances and he was the best player to ever play the game of basketball. He came from North Carolina also, i might add. Which is the best college ever!!!
ReplyDeleteMs. P., Michael should definitely have a greater sense of responsibility, but his sense of responsibility should be no greater than that of anyone else. Since he is merely human, he is bound to make mistakes every once in a while, just like each one of us. The fact that he is a world-class athlete doesn't change anything in my eyes. It's hard for athletes to find a good, solid role model to emulate these days, because there are few athletes who have not taken steroids or done drugs, but if he were to look back into history, he could find a lot of great role models, because they achieved great things without the use of drugs or performance enhancers.
ReplyDeleteBlake...well said!
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