Over the years of doing Sports Byline, one of the most animated fan discussions we’ve had is over whether athletes are role models. That argument should be put to rest once and for all given the accusations against Kobe Bryant. Athletes are not role models in the traditional sense.

The argument I hear most often is that athletes are role models and that way of thinking is usually connected in some way to how much money they make. As if, making a lot of money automatically buys one the “role model” title. The second reason is usually how the media portrays the athlete. Put the two together, and you can see how people come to see athletes as role models. It’s a false assumption and only shows we’ve lost focus, lost our ability to make good value judgments and believe that “flash and dash” and image is more important than substance. The bottom line is: we’ve become lazy and stupid in our mental process in assessing and building our character foundation.

Bryant should be our wake up call. No one, particularly in sports, should be looked upon as a role model simply on face value. Today, smart, and particularly articulate athletes know they can make more money off the court and field with a finely crafted image. Bryant is certainly book smart. He scored better then a thousand on his SATs. He’s cultured in that he’s traveled the world and speaks fluent Italian. He comes from a stable, two-parent home. And, his dad was a NBA player who gave him support and insight to what the pro athlete and NBA was really like. However, having said that, there’s no amount of intelligence that can make up for his lack of common sense. What Bryant is alleged to have done is just plain stupid.

I’ve often said, “one can never push the clock ahead on experience and common sense.” Bryant has learned that lesson the hard way. Instead of 25, let’s make Bryant 40 years old. What would 15 years have done in this case? First, another excited female fan would have been a bother rather then an ego booster. More then likely, if he were still playing, his concern for his aching knee(s), which was going to be operated on again, would have dictated a quiet night and an early night’s sleep. Supposing that he had a successful and happy marriage, Bryant would have been more concerned about the boys his teenage daughter(s) was attracting than the attraction of a 20 something woman for him. For the umpteenth time he would have wondered how much longer he wanted to put his body through another NBA season. And, he would be appreciating all he had done in basketball and dreaming of what he might say on that June day when he’s inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. No, at 25, Bryant made a decision more reflective of an over confident, arrogant and stupid 25 year old instead of a more reasoned, reflective and mature 40-year-old. His 25-year-old decision will cost him much more respect wise and financially than a different decision he would have made at 40. It will be a painful and costly lesson no matter how his court case turns out.

Now, let’s address his “role model” label and image. Almost all fans/people see athletes, and in this case, Bryant as a role model. He’s an athlete, he’s very talented and successful, he makes a lot of money, the media says a lot of nice things about him, he comes across well in a lot of commercial that a lot of people see, he smiles a lot and he seems like a nice person. Bingo. He’s a role model. No! Where in all those things I mentioned does the average fan/person know what his true thoughts are about living life, drugs, his political leanings, raising kids, spousal abuse, education and being a good person. What we do know is that he can put a basketball in the hole very well, and often. He makes a lot of money that allows him to buy a big house and anything he wants. He can marry a beautiful woman and father a child, but he also can cheat on his wife after two years of marriage and shortly after the birth of his child. He is adored by all that come in contact with him, but he also doesn’t have the common sense to know that each contact is a potential trap, especially if it’s with a woman. And, we also know that Bryant, no matter how much outward class and worldly culture he might have, can be tacky by trying to buy his wife’s forgiveness by buying her a four million dollar ring two days after he admitted he committed adultery. But altogether, that doesn’t make Kobe Bryant a role model. It makes him a typical 25 year-old man who has a special athletic talent that has allowed him a golden opportunity to make a lot of money that will afford him a good life unless he continues to make stupid and certainly not “role model” like decisions.

I guess what I’m saying is, if having role models are important to you, and I think it is, then start thinking independently about what, and who, is truly deserving of being called a “role model”. It certainly should be someone who can be observed in “real life”, which sports isn’t. It’s someone who can stand the test of time. Not perfect, but certainly consistent in their actions, philosophies and attitudes of the things really important in life a person of compassion, understanding, tolerance and common sense intelligence-- and, finally, a person whose accomplishments are meaningful to others. Meaningful in a way that touches us, motivates us and makes us glad and feel fortunate that they came into our life. Now that is a real role model.

I feel better now.

I'm Ron Barr.

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