A Legacy Of Shame

"I am not a role model."

These were the jolting words uttered by former Auburn University basketball star and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley during acontroversial Nike advertisement back in 1993. 

At the time of the ad, many members of the general public were ready to stone the always-blunt and never-politically correct hoops legend, and to hang his image in effigy for somehow mocking the responsibilities that accompany a status as a popular public figure. 

I felt, however, as I am sure most members of the reasonable public did, that the commercial 

was perhaps one of Sir Charles' finest moments, and perhaps did as much for his overall legacy as all of the points he tallied and all of the rebounds he collected. 

In just a matter of seconds, Barkley spoke volumes about the importance of sports observers, and especially young and impressionable fans,  in not necessarily choosing athletes as their main guiding influences. 

Although he did not exactly do it in a warm and fuzzy fashion, Barkley, who has generated plenty of negative headlines himself over the years, rightfully pointed out in so many words that just because athletes can perform amazing feats in whatever sport they excel in, this hardly means that these talented individuals should always be put on a pedestal where kids or anyone else seek to pattern their way of thinking or living after them. 

That is hardly an indictment of all athletes as through the years there have been a number of sports standouts who not only were gifted physically, but were also very good and even remarkable citizens, whether it be  Stan Musial,  Cal Ripken Jr. or Dale Murphy and even now with Derek Jeter and Tim Tebow. 

During my journalistic career, I have even covered a number of high-school student-athletes whom I can honestly say that any parent would be elated if their own children turned out just like them. Although there are way too many of them to mention from my former home in St Clair County, where I covered sports for about 15 years, I know that all of my friends there would agree that the late and very talented former Moody High School student-athlete Farrah Seals was a prime example.

But for every Ripken, Tebow, Murphy and Seals that comes along to inspire us and to give us all hope that we can still believe in heroes, someone like an O.J. Simpson, Pete Rose or a Michael Vick comes along to stomp our collective hopes and leave us feeling jaded, disillusioned, heartbroken, empty and disappointed. 

For this reason, Barkley was right on the mark when he correctly noted that it's perhaps wise for us to remember that when it comes to choosing our role models, we need to look to the people that matter most in our lives, such as our parents or other family members, our closest friends and perhaps even our teachers and pastors.  Although certainly no one is perfect, we still need to look for guidance and advice from the real and significant people in our lives, and those are usually the best individuals to seek out in locating our true role models. I know my wonderful parents have always been my main influences and they are role models in every sense of the term. The same goes for my two sisters.

With Alabama having recently won its 15th national championship in football, and second in a row, and with Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban having won his fourth BCS title overall, there still continues to be much discussion regarding the legacies of the Alabama program and for Saban as well. Legacy is a word that is thrown around quite a bit in the world of sports, much like the word legend. 

But when we hear from an athlete that he or she has cheated their sport, or if we are given overwhelming evidence to support that fact, it leaves a true legacy of shame and disappointment, not only on his or her career and in the record books, but also in our minds and hearts and for everyone who perhaps now feels that the world of sports is devoid of any innocence or purity.   And with good reason.

Recently at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., the anticipation that usually comes from the announcement of the newest inductees into this prestigious group was replaced by the emptiness of there actually not being any inductees chosen this year. 

This is of course due to the fact that inductee candidates such as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens have been linked to the National Pasttime's performance-enhancing drug scandal, and although all of the candidates have issued repeated denials regarding their use of PEDs, there was seemingly much evidence to contradict their denials and because of their continued link to the scandal, none of them will likely ever make the Hall of Fame in my opinion. 

This means there will always be questions when it comes to their records and achievements, and this scandal will always cast a black mark on the history of the sport. 

Former bicycle racing superstar Lance Armstrong is another former athlete who was once considered a hero by millions of people, but thanks to his recent acknowledgement to Oprah Winfrey that he did in fact use PEDS after many years of often-arrogant denials, he is now just another disgraced former star whose achievements and good deeds are tarnished, much like his reputation 

I think the news about Armstrong, while not a complete shock to many people, is particularly disappointing still to a lot of people because there were a significant number of good deeds.

As a cancer survivor himself, Armstrong helped to raise tons of money for cancer research and used his stardom to raise much awareness about the disease.  Many viewed him as a hero because he was the individual who fought valiantly against the deadly disease to become a biking champion and legend and an athlete who many believed was one of the rare clean athletes in a doping scandal-plagued sport. 

But as more allegations continued to surface on a yearly basis about Armstrong, it was getting more difficult to believe that all of these were untrue, and it ultimately reached the point where Armstrong was finally stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. More reports have surfaced that as he continued to issue strong and defiant denials to questions about his use of PEDs, the biker became threatening and vindictive toward his accusers. So even before his titles were stripped and his confession to Winfrey, much of the goodwill and admiration regarding Armstrong had already been lost while scrutiny only continued to intensify. 

Armstrong's fall from grace is yet another sad chapter in a sports world where fans are becoming increasingly disappointed and heartbroken by their so-called heroes.

It is also yet another reason why Barkley was so apropo in his memorable advertisement some 20 years ago when he told sports fans to look elsewhere for their role models.