Stop Looking Up to the Superstar Athlete

You may have heard that earlier today, Lance Armstrong was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles for his role in a massive doping scheme during his run as cycling's biggest star.  He also recently stepped down as chairman of Livestrong and his endorsers have been letting him go one by one, with Oakley being the latest company to let him go.  Look at this quote I pulled from ESPN:

"Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling, and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling," said Pat McQuaid, president of the International Cycling Union.  It's almost unbelievable.  I lived through the Lance Armstrong years, when his recovery from cancer was an inspiration for many.  Until we learned of his cheating, many considered his seven straight Tour de France titles as one of the greatest achievements in sports.  Look where we stand now.

This is only the latest case of the bungled decision-making of the superstar athlete.  More and more, it's becoming clear that Charles Barkley's famous words from a 1990's commercial, "I'm not a role model", actually should hold true for the majority of the athletes we follow.  Luckily, there are those stars who hold their image and their stature, held up by their strong morals, but we're coming upon too many big names making too many big mistakes.  Lance Armstrong.  Tiger Woods.  Roger Clemens.  Michael Vick.  These guys have been showing some dark colors along the way, and though some, like Vick, appear to have gotten past their errors, we'll never forget what they've put us through as fans.

My favorite athlete growing up was Michael Jordan.  His pure skill, his competitiveness, and his superstar stature made him the object of heroism for many around the world.  He may have been the greatest basketball player ever but beyond that, he may have had the strongest influence on culture of any athlete in the history of sports.  Michael Jordan the basketball player was spectacular, and I'll always carry those wonderful memories of his ventures.

He believes he can fly.

Michael Jordan the human being, however, has proven to be anything but a hero.  He's well known now for his gambling addiction, and his Hall of Fame speech had "cocky jerk" written all over it.  It's difficult for me to keep the two separate in my mind now; how can I think about Michael Jordan and his exploits without including both the good and the bad?

As I said, not all athletes stumble in this way, and you can't blame these stars too much for having faults.  They're human and beyond that, they're put under a tremendous amount of pressure.  The biggest mistakes seem to occur when these guys know how big of a star they are.  They think that they are gods and can do anything and everything they want to.  If I had that much power, I'd like to think that I'd hold to my morals, but who knows: maybe these guys thought the same thing before they got to the top.

Anyway, Lance Armstrong's downfall merely reminds me that kids today need better role models.  Other upstanding athletes or entertainers could step up but in reality, it's each of us that needs to act as those role models.  If I had simply followed Michael Jordan's footsteps while growing up, where would I be now?  Probably not writing this post in the comfort of my home.  Winning is desirable, but winning doesn't count when you cheat, and Lance Armstrong has finally faced the consequences.  Thanks be to God for that.