Shaq's Disgraceful Comment!

[STUNNAH]

Atheletes are not role models...

That's not 100% true.  Some athletes, and other high profile stars for that matter, do a lot for the community and for society as a whole.  A lot of these people are genuine and have caring hearts.  It's up to the true heroes of society, the parents, to raise their children in a way that instills values, respect, pride, and dignity within themselves.  How they will ultimately turn out is anyone's guess.  Parents often make the mistake of thinking that it is the responsibility of teachers to teach their children values and morals.



                                              Brian

I can agree that there may be exceptions to the general rule but atheletes in general cannot be looked upon as role models...And your right it is the responsiblity of the parents to produce well inform productive citizens...

 

[bacharles]

Thanx Stunnah...

 

[STUNNAH]

Thanx Stunnah...

When your right I'm with ya...Sometimes even if your wrong...

 

[bacharles]

That's why you're my homey.

 

[Thinker62]

was Yao offended is the real question If he was then there mayeb a problem Yes Shaq is a role model and should set a better example but lets face it what is OK coming from one black man to another is not OK from a white man and vice versa what is OK (maybe Shaq and Yao are friends off the court) from one man to another maybe acceptable but they need to set a better example in public. I have a friend that calls me fat bastard cause I have gained abot 30 pounds I am not fat but its OK We are best friends I tell him he is ugly and I can diet but would he say this on tv in front of a crowd of fat people wellllll I hope not the fact is they are regular guys I dont know the facts maybe Shaq and Yao arent friends but to be aware 24 7 about everything you say that could possibly be taken the worng way by somebody out there especially when your in the public spot light all the time . Imagine all the things you say around your best friends being recorded and you didnt know it and played on national tv across the globe . ...Ask Yao if he is offended if not I say move on If so maybe then there is something to b&^#@ about .

Shaq and Yao are probably not friends. That game was going to be the first time they faced each other. However, even if they were friends they can certainly say whatever they want to each other. But when 20 micorphones are stuck in Shaq's face, and he is sending his message via a couple million people, he might not want to go with an off color remark that clearly, a lot of people would be offended by.

Do I think he has a responsibility to be a role model? NO. He gets paid to throw a ball around, period. However, I would appeal to his sence of decency, and hope that he realizes that a lot of kids do look up to him, and this forces him to be a role model...be it positive or negative.

All of these guys ARE role models by the definition of the term. Many kids model themselves after these guys. However, you can't hold these guys responsible for that. They are trained to be athletes. they are paid to be athletes. It is strictly their choice whether they want to be good role models or poor ones. And we end up with a mixed bag, just like regular society. It is OUR failure as parents, if these guys have more influence over our own kids than WE do...if these guys are greater role models for OUR kids than WE are. It is OUR responsibility to raise OUR kids, not theirs. So as part of MY responsibility to my kids, I let them know when one of these superstars does something wrong, or at a minimum shows poor judgement.

My last point...we do know that these guys influence our kids. What we sometimes underestimate is how much WE can influence what these guys do publicly by chosing where to spend our money. Fuzzy felt the sting of public pressure, and so did Jimmy the Greek, and John Rocker. The only example of a black star that felt such pressure that comes to mind is Ice T. I believe he eventually removed "Cop Killer" from his CD.

I just think that Shaq got off a little easy.

 

[Thinker62]

The key is this

They are high profile celebrities, and kids watch them on TV and emulate them.  

Emulate the actions on TV the performance of the sport...Therefore, they are not role models...[/QUOTE]

Stun, I am affraid I can't agree with you. What you are saying is ideally true. Wouldn't it be nice if parents, teachers, clergy etc did such a good job that all our kids pay attention to is Shaq's physical prowess! That would be awesome...but it is not reality. In reality, the media reports on stars activities on and off "the job". They are called poparazzi or something like that. Anyway, kids not only want to play like Mike, they want to wear fur coats like Michael Irvin, date Jennifer Lopez like Puff daddy, eat Burger King like Shaq, dress like Lil Kim, and have their own radio show like Rasheed Wallace. They want to talk, walk and live like these people. It would be naive to think that kids don't also pay attention when these guys beat their wives, do drugs, take steroids, or be involved in shootings. But I will repeat, and I think you agree...It is not Stars' RESPONSIBILITY to be role models. That is not what they get paid for. But they are role models whether they/we like it or not.

The responsibility to keep our kids grounded, and teach them wrong from right is on US. We can't blame stars for what our kids do. If Barkley is an idiot, it is up to me to explain to my children why he is not a good example for them to follow.

Thinker

 

[Thinker62]

Atheletes are not role models...

That's not 100% true.  Some athletes, and other high profile stars for that matter, do a lot for the community and for society as a whole.  A lot of these people are genuine and have caring hearts.  It's up to the true heroes of society, the parents, to raise their children in a way that instills values, respect, pride, and dignity within themselves.  How they will ultimately turn out is anyone's guess.  Parents often make the mistake of thinking that it is the responsibility of teachers to teach their children values and morals.



                                              Brian

I can agree that there may be exceptions to the general rule but atheletes in general cannot be looked upon as role models...And your right it is the responsiblity of the parents to produce well inform productive citizens...

OK, I should have read a little further. You guys are right on the money. We sometimes forget the definition of "role model". Abstractly, it is just someone that people model their lives after. We tend to automatically assume that being a role model means that a person sets a positive example, and does it on purpose. In truth, one could ba a positive role model or a negative one, and can do it voluntarily or involuntarily. ANYONE who has an influence over a kids life IS a role model. Stars have an influence, so they are role models.

As parents we are not only role models, but we have a RESPONSIBILITY to be POSITIVE role models, to guide our kids, and to limit the affects of negative role models.

For the most part, I think that we are on the same page!

 

[Akira]

I do agree some want but if you watch sport center or most T.V shows whites or non blacks make the same type of statements ever day.  Bling/bling/whatz-up homey/I'm going to the crib are just examples and we don't get pissed off or make a sence.  It was a joke an nothing more.  Sometimes people look to deeply into things, we as blacks do have to stop the double standard.(RUSH HOUR 1 an 2 are great movies but Chris Tucker got away w/ alot of Racial comments, all I'm saying is if you give'em then don't get mad when you recivie them.

This is a very complicated subject. There is such a fine line between imitating someone in a funny way and trying to be funny with a derrogatory remark. Kind of like the difference between laughing at someone and laughing with someone. I can go either way, and I do frequently joke around. I am sure I cross the line at times.

And, I agree with Stunnah that sports figures are not necessarily role models. My biggest problem here is the double standard. Black stars don't even think twice before they lash out with a joke that could be taken the wrong way. But we have created an atmosphere where whites have to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL of what they say, or risk their careers. If their comments miss the funny mark, the repercussions tend to be much more severe than when blacks miss the funny mark. (What is Fuzzy Zoellar doing these days?)

The double standard is what I find unhealthy for a society, not joking in general. Personally, I think we all should lighten up. But if not, we need to apply justice fairly across the board.

On the lighter side...Yao should have answered in an interview, "That's my *****!" Now that would have been funny!

I agree w/ you on that.

 

[Big O]

I don't think it matters if Yao was offended, people of his culture would be offended.

And, I believe athletes have a responsiblity to their sport because they are percieved to be role models.

 

[race24x]

Thinker you have a very good point about how we are responsible for raising our children. It is our job to decipher for them what is a good role model and what is not. How many of our kids love to listen to Eminem etc. I hate to pick him out but he is very popular right now and my kids know every word to his songs. What do you do I have tried changing the channel etc. All you can do is try to do the best you can to love your children and explain to them the good from the bad. One of my daughters said the other day she wanted to move to NY city that Julia Styles? walks around wherever she wants allover the city. Having grown up and born in NY I had to tell her there are good and bad parts. There are places I wouldnt go walking around . My point is my daughtre saw this on MTV and believed that because this star hangs out at a Starbucks coffee somewhere in NY that the city is safe and she could go wandering around.