It’s a common discussion, and a fairly controversial topic among sport’s circles.  Should athletes be role models?  To put it simply, yes.  Athletes should be and ultimately are role models, whether they like it or not.  Of course, not every athlete utilizes their opportunity as a role model.  Many famous athletes such as Alex Rodriquez, a steroid user, Tiger Woods, an adulterer, and Meta World Peace, a man whose actions contradict his name in every way, have not been even remotely successful as role models.  They have constantly had their names in the news for the wrong reasons, which has hurt not only themselves but all the kids that have looked up to them.

From an early age, I loved everything about sports.  I loved to play them, and I loved to watch them.  In reality, today’s society is the same way.  We are obsessed. We can’t get enough of the games and the people who play them.  Because of this, athletes have been put in a position where they are required to be role models.  As I said before, not all of them are ready for this.  Many of them fail to lead as a good example.  Unfortunately, kids pick up on this, and it negatively effects them.  One common misconception is that kids will only look up to professional or college athletes.  This is simply not true as many younger kids will look up to high school athletes, as well.

While I am sure many Westminster athletes doubt that they have any effect on the younger kids watching their games, this belief is wrong and ignorant.  I will always remember looking up to the varsity basketball players when I was a middle school student.  For some reason, upper classmen are like idols to the younger kids.  Unfortunately, upper school student athletes often times do not realize the amount of respect and admiration their younger peers have for them.  This ignorance can be shown on the field or court. If varsity athletes realized that they are role models for younger students, they would act much differently.  They would think twice about throwing their racket, cussing, or arguing with the ref.

So how should varsity athletes act on and off the court?  At Westminster, varsity athletes need to be held to a higher standard.  In most cases, athletes at this school are the most popular students.  They have the pedestal to lead as Christian athletes at a Christian school.  But what does being a Christian athlete look like?  It most definitely does not mean that one loses all competitive spirit, and only concentrates on converting the opposing team.  While being very open about one’s faith on the athletic field is not a bad thing, there are other better ways in which one can be a solid Christian role model.  In my opinion, it all comes down to good sportsmanship.  Make sure you hold your temper, are gracious in defeat, and are encouraging to both your teammates and opponents.  If one does this, he or she will be setting a good example for future athletes at Westminster.

Ultimately, Westminster athletes need to know that they are being watched so act accordingly.