[espnclassictv-9/17]Charles Barkley -'I'm Not a Role Model'

well... he's right.

 

Are you actually defending that dumbass statement from Charles?

It's rare that I agree with him, but Bill Walton (and most analysts at the time, actually) was completely on the spot with his assessment of Charles' idiocy here: Athletes DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE in being role models. Little kids are GOING to look up to you when you're a superstar athlete. As long as professional leagues exist, that will always be true. There's nothing he or any parent can do about it.

If you're Chuck, you can't cop out of stupid ass behavior by saying you're not a role model. You are a role model whether you want to be or not.

 

... OK on second thought, "role model" isn't always the right term to use in my above post. But star athletes will always be someone that kids idolize and want to be like. So they need to be more careful about their behavior. It IS part of their job.

 

I always wanted to be like the starting QB on my high school football team. Everyone liked him; he was muscular and tanned; and, dayum, did he have all the babes.

 

I think the message flew right past your head.

 

he is a donkey kissing model

 

Didnt understand the controversy of it back then, was too young to comprehend or care. Can see now how it'd upset people cuz of the serious semi-prick tone its in, and how Barkley can speak in absolutes. It does come off like he's saying "For the last TIME - keep your damn KIDS AWAY from me", like between games he was busy babysitting the fans' kids at his house or something.

If Pac Man Jones said "I'm not a role model" people would be like ye-e-eep you're sure right about that one Paccy....Conversely if an athlete says "I AM a role model" that can come off being douchy.

Its part of players' jobs to have good behavior not just for how it affects young people, but because the organizations that pay them want them to be a good reflection of the organization, for image sake.

 

I really hope not. However, the fact goes oppositely.
Many young guys want Charls to tell them how the donkey's ass tastes ,but Barkley doesn't intend to reveal the truth so the youngsters try themselves.
And they also want to know the taste of losing to an old man in race, so they ask their grandpa or even their gma to have a race with them despite the likelihood of their old families' injuries.
I really hope Charls changes that and behaves as a role model we all respect.

 

people are sticking up for charles when he acts like a fool, the message he is trying to deliver is where are the parents? the athletes are models, but the parents should be the ones shaping these kids lives, those kids who look up to athletes, as the ones he is speaking of, usually have absent-minded parents, or literally parents who are absent in some cases. in our society we put incredibly too much emphesis on "movie stars" and athletes for these kids to look up to, when all most of them have to offer is their physical ability, the rare few offer more, such as Mutombo, but they don't play basketball for a living because they are the most caring, generous, intelligent individuals, they have a gift and they are using that gift for ENTERTAINMENT, i am not saying athletes are necessarily unintelligent, i am just saying it ISN'T their job to be these children's parents, so wake up american society and start paying more attention to your children...once again i am not saying charles should act like he wants/say what he wants, but it's true, where are the parents in these kid's lives???

on a basketball note, how many years did barkley play for the rockets? i can't even remember and i am too lazy to look it up. plus i want to change the subject to include rocket's basketball : P

 

Sure Athlete will be idolized and looked up to as rold models by children. However if they misbehave and do the wrong thing, that is where parents need to step in and point out that is the wrong thing to do.

 

Jesus!!! I was 12 only 8 years ago. I still remember it vividly. I loved sports and I wanted to be a sports superstar just like any other kid... Just because some superstar basketball player had a fight in a club, or abused his spouse or murdered his spouse, didn't mean that we wanted to murder our family members, or start fights in clubs.

I know i'm not being "pc" here, but its time to face the harsh reality. If a kid follows his favorite player to the teeth, such as being a jerk because his favorite player is a jerk, then that kid has other issues that do not stem from the athlete being a jerk himself. My brother is thirteen. He knows when a athlete is being a dumbass or not. He may try to emulate his moves on the court, but has the common sense to not be a complete idiot when he isnt playing the sport just because his favorite player is.

At the end of the day, athletes ARE NOT ROLE MODELS. Yup, I said it. If a kid is dumb enough to follow an athlete's behavior off the court.... Then the course of natural selection will take place and the kid will one day end up being shot and killed, or end up in jail. One less r****d on the streets. I'm sorry if im being blunt. Parents should be the only role models for children. It is their responsibility and only their responsibility.

 

IMO, a child past age ten should figure out for himself weather the athlete is being a r****d or not.

 

Im sorry for the triple post, but I just have to add one more thing.

People underestimate the reasoning skills of children in today's world way too much.