Professional athletes are often looked up to by young people for their incredible athletic abilities, dedication, and hard work that they exhibit in competition. They become positive role models because of how they play their game, whether they win or lose. However, they are also human beings who make scandalous and controversial mistakes from time to time. From my perspective, we should admire professional athletes who showcase the true meaning of sports during the game, because that is what they represent. It’s also important to be specific about what we admire about them because what we see is only a fragment of their lives.
In the highly competitive and demanding world of sports, athletes will not thrive if they do not buckle down to possess an exceptional level of endurance and tenacity. It requires discipline and serious commitment to toughen their minds and hone their athletic skills to achieve the physical and mental strength to withstand any active and mind sports, whether it rain or shine. As the specters are watching them finishing the race, they inspire everyone to always perform at their best, to compete fairly, to never give up despite numerous failures, and to learn how to cope with difficult situations cheerfully. Hence, some people consider them to be positive role models to the young bloods who aspire to succeed in life.
On the flip side, some people are at odds with the notion that professional athletes cannot be a positive example to the youth because of how they behave negatively on and off the game. Because athletes are humans, too, they cannot be always on their best behavior on some occasions. At times, when the game gets intense, they may lose their temper and act out aggressively towards their opponents. Unfortunately, some athletes are using their strength to just show off their strength to intimidate others in the public or whoever they have conflict with. Moreover, there are also moments when they lose, they say something bad to their opponents because they cannot accept their defeat, and worse due to pressure some athletes resort to cheating due to the pressure to win the game. These actions can set a bad example for young people who look up to them as role models.
From my standpoint, every human being has a duality. Those athletes who embody the true essence of sportsmanship by promoting camaraderie, celebrating of the human mind and body, and fostering fair competition while they are playing the game should serve as positive role models for the younger generation. However, strange as it may sound, whatever bad behavior they exposed to the public outside of sports, whether reasonable or unreasonable, I have no right to judge them because I only see and hear a fragment of their story. People should understand that a person can only be a good role model for a specific category and that no one is perfect. Additionally, I believe that the world of sports will not tolerate any athlete who lacks integrity, respect for others, and dignity. Such athletes cannot represent their respective sports with pride.