We’ve all watched professional sports. Every kid’s dream is to make it to the professional levels. But we’ve all seen the rude behaviors that professional sports players have demonstrated. On camera, nonetheless.
Being a professional athlete puts the players in the spotlight and makes them a very public figure. Millions of people are watching. While that’s a lot of pressure, it also means that they’re a role model, even if they don’t start out intending to be. When a kid watches a sports game, they should see fairness and good sportsmanship, not arguments, shoving, and throwing stuff around. What does that tell the children except that it’s ‘acceptable’ to act that way?
When kids play recreational sports, it instills certain morals into its players: morals such as playing a fair and clean game; shaking hands with the other team, regardless of who won or lost. But maybe the most important lesson taught to the players is sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is one of the key parts of being a sports player.
But watching professional sports, it looks like some of those players never even learned these morals. Sportsmanship is something that should be able to carry through any age group, skill level, or sport. It shouldn’t matter whether the player is just learning to play, or if they make millions of dollars playing the game. Morals should last no matter what.
But even more than that, kids look up to professional sports players. What they’re seeing is rude comments and childish behavior. What example does that make for the younger sports players? The kids who want to be just like their idols?
At the end of the day, a professional sports game is just a game. Granted, these players are getting paid to play, but it’s still just a game. It’s just another level from when they started out playing rec or high school. But that doesn’t mean it gives them the right to act immature when things don’t go their way.
But it isn’t just professional sports players who need to remember that kids are looking up to them; it pertains to any sports player who’s older than someone else or a better skill level than someone else.
Every kid has people they look up to; people they want to be. It should be our job to make sure that they are given the best role models possible, for sports and everyday life.