Billy Payne, the Augusta National Chairman, recently criticized Tiger Woods about his immoral behavior by commenting, “Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we saw for our children.” However, just because Tiger Woods is a great professional golfer, his job requires him not just to be a professional athlete. His first responsibility is to perform and win golf tournaments and his second responsibility is to be a role model for younger kids. It is important for athletes, both professional and amateur, to realize that although their primary mission is to be a successful athlete, they must also make the correct moral choices.

The majority of athletes at this school understands the significance of being a student-athlete as well as being a good role model. Younger children do indeed regard athletes at this school as role models. Many younger children dream of becoming the next high school football, soccer or basketball star. Therefore, it is essential that athletes here behave in a manner that those children want to emulate. Athletes need to possess the best characteristics of both an athlete and a person; those qualities include perseverance, sportsmanship and the pursuit of excellence for an athlete, and integrity, honesty, generosity and kindness for a person.

In the past several months, members of the men’s basketball team made poor decisions. They did not grasp the importance of their responsibility as being part of a team at this school. But the blame must also be placed on their lack of understanding the significance of being an athlete here. Athletes might not realize that they are being scrutinized not only on their athletic abilities but also their choices. The Student Athletic Board is a group of student-athletes dedicated to making sure they make the correct decisions daily. Fortunately, this school understands the importance of its students being good role models.

The Greyhound Kick-off Mentor (GKOM) program was started several years ago to make the upperclassmen role models for the freshmen. This program was designed to help students academically and socially, but perhaps a program needs to be started that is designed to make junior and senior athletes role models for freshmen athletes. This would serve as a reminder to the upperclassmen athletes that they are being looked up to.

However, I have to defend athletes here because I am one. Athletes are human, which means they make mistakes. I understand we expect athletes to be superior to the average human being, but they are still fallible. The pressure on athletes to perform on and off the playing field is sometimes too intense at this school. Athletes need the occasional break from the public eye in order to relieve stress, and our athletes should be less exposed to the media. Athletes enjoy the spotlight that local, state and school television broadcasts and media coverage supplies, but being in the spotlight blinds them from reality.

Athletes need to be held to higher standards than the average person, as opposed to the lower standards they are currently held to. Professional athletes need to demonstrate how to be good role models. Many professional athletes are making mistakes on a larger stage than the stage at this school, so athletes here believe that they can make the same sort of mistakes and get away with them, which they cannot. Therefore, professional athletes need to be reminded that they are role models for younger children, so that high school athletes will be reminded they must be role models. If professionals can get away with making mistakes, then amateur athletes will begin to believe that they can get away with making mistakes.

All high school students should be role models to younger children. Athletes sign codes of conduct, but they should also be expected to sign a contract that states they are expected to be good role models for young students and children in the community. Without a doubt, the spotlight just shines brighter on athletes. Athletes here know how to make the correct decisions. This is just a reminder that they need to make the correct decisions on and off the playing field, because if not, consequences will occur. 

Reuben Warshawsky is a reporter for the HiLite. Contact him at <[email protected]>.