Even Star Athletes Do Bad Things and Get "Grounded" For it..

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:01:26 GMT

By Erin Graboski

Erin Graboski
Athletes that have suffered the consequences of not being a good role model include Michael Phelps and Tiger Woods.

Every Sunday, people gather around, especially young sport enthusiasts, to watch their favorite athletes. Being their role models, they anticipate the winning touchdown or the final slam dunk into the game. But what is a role model? A role model, by definition is: a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulate by others, especially young people. Companies like AT&T and Nike have athletes they use to sell their products. What happens when the role model isn't being a good example? In 2009, Olympic gold medalist, Michael Phelps, was caught on tape smoking a marijuana pipe at a college party he was attending. As soon as the video rose and shocked many, Phelps was suspended from the USA Swimming, the nation's competitive swim team, for 3 months. Right at home in Colorado, our very own J.R. Smith was involved in a DUI car crash in 2008. He was suspended for 7 games at the start of the season. So why is it such a big deal when athletes mess up? Because the companies who are advertising them and sponsoring them will be hit hard too. When their ordeals become public, people who are opposed to the idea will stop buying that companies product. Not good for either side. The athletes can do stupid things like we teenagers can do. Either way, everybody, be it pro-athletes or high school students, can't always slip on by with something we did bad. We are all going to get "grounded" in some way for it.