Ballers Are Not Gods
Un-deifying the Athlete
By Junior Sanchez

A long time ago rock stars were crossed off the list of positive role models, and with the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, presidents had to go too. But surely, basketball players had the moral integrity all kids were able to look up to, right? Unfortunately not. The recent brawl between NBA players and NBA fans shows that it is unreasonable to deify our athletes into becoming moral examples for our children.

Americans have come to expect our athletes to be positive role models. After all, we watch their games and wear their jersey's. We admire their abilities while wearing their names on our shoes. We eat the cereal with their picture on the box and drink what they tell us too while our kids sing "If I could be like Mike." Kids don't sing, "If I could be like mom." Maybe that's why it was so shocking and surprising (I must admit exciting) to see Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers jump into the seats, single out a fan and proceed to put on an ass-whooping! (Artest pummeled the wrong fan. The fan identified as throwing the cup that provoked Artest is a season ticket holder with a criminal record including driving under the influence. He has been banned from The Palace.) The complete abandonment of professionalism displayed in the unfolding melee sent an unbelievable jolt to viewers and resulted in the suspension of more than five players, some of which are appealing the decision.

Pointing the blame on the players alone is irresponsible. The primitive behavior of some of the Detriot fans (which, coincidentally was ranked among the most dangerous cities in America, SJ Mercury) are also at fault. Indeed the unprecedented, historical slugfest brought some shameful visuals to the screen, but perhaps the most disturbing images of all were the horrified faces of the children in attendance.

Unfortunately for the little tykes, our athletic heroes happen to be human. And this is what humans do. From the biblical account of Cain and Abel right down to Bush and Saddam, violence has been and continues to be an inescapable fallacy of human beings. The recent basketball ruckus proves that our athletes are no exception. Granted their athletic ability puts these people into the spotlight for our entertainment -- and entertainment sells. It's as if by buying into the endorsements, American parents have come to share the parental role of being moral examples to their own children. Somewhere between attending games, wearing jerseys and buying our kids Air Jordan's, Americans have come to see our athletic professionals as shining examples of integrity. When athletes shatter this image, parents are mistakenly appalled and ashamed of their actions.

The real shock is America's unfair and delusional perception of the American athlete as a demi-god, based on nothing more than incredible athletic feats. It is truly unreasonable to deify our athletes into becoming moral examples for our children. It is irrational to allow our kids, either through endorsements or parental consent, to look up to the athletes as examples of morality. Instead our children are to look up to their parents.