Tiger Woods’ Masters and the Rightful Role of Athletes as Role Models

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: April 13, 2011

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Recently, ESPN’s Bill Simmons took on the difficult topic of Tiger Woods and what his recent personal troubles mean to us—and what they should mean. It is a topic that has been beaten to death, but Tiger’s vintage performance on the front nine Sunday suddenly had us remembering 2003, pre-fiasco Tiger.

Simmons discussed watching the Masters with his three-year-old son, who thoroughly enjoyed the energy and enthusiasm around Tiger Woods. Keep in mind, golf is a sport that neither my twenty-year-old brother nor my fifty-year-old mother can take interest in on television.

What had toddler Mr. Simmons so interested?

And should adult Bill Simmons feel bad that his son took such an unabated interest in a confessed sex-addict adulterer?

In his final paragraph, Simmons touches a much more overarching subject, the way fans should consider the role of the athlete:

“If my son needs a role model, and he will, that person should be me. I don't need Tiger to teach my child how to behave. I need him to teach my son that it's fun to watch golf.”

Athletes have come to be celebrities in every sense of the word. Sports like baseball, football and basketball become more popular every year, and 24/7 sports programming on several dozen channels (coupled with instant news sources like Twitter) have made star athletes every bit as scrutinized as politicians and Hollywood actresses.

We are quick to treat athletes as role models, whether because of Kobe Bryant’s passion or Tiger Woods’ unrivalled focus under intense pressure. Both of these traits have helped them ascend to the upper echelon of their respective sports, and our instinct as fans is to extend this positive perception of their talents to what we assume are their personalities and values.

Unfortunately, athletes are inevitably human (well, Barry Bonds was mostly human). Often athletes’ most...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

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