Athletes must capitalize on their unique opportunities to be heroes
Published: September 2, 2009
Updated: September 2, 2009
Charles Barkley once stated, “I am not a role model.”
While I like Barkley very much, for the way he played the game and for his honest personality, I find this disappointing.
Athletes and celebrities have a unique opportunity to be role models, to be heroes. Perhaps they are not obligated, but for the magnitude of their roles in so many of our lives, not to mention the incredible opportunities with which they have been somewhat gifted, I think we can expect them to be.
Instead, we have DUI, drugs, drug dealing, gun violations, manslaughter, rape, murder and, of course, everyone’s favorite du jour, dog fighting.
If impacting another’s life in a positive way can make a person a hero of some definition, then athletes truly have a greater opportunity than just about any other segment of our society to accomplish this, and to make a difference.
Perhaps it is not a responsibility, but most athletes are folks who were given a bit of a gift and took advantage of their specific opportunity.
One would then hope an individual such as this would take his or her unique opportunity and make the most of it, by helping others, and being heroes.
Take, for example, former Washington Redskin Darrell Green. In 1988, Green founded the Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation, an organization designed to meet the needs of children, their families and the communities in which they live. At the core of Green’s foundation is his desire to help the less fortunate. He feels he was given a gift, and his heart condition is that getting a gift means giving a gift.
Green is a hero.
You will notice that I began with a Redskin.
Now, for a Cowboy: Roger Staubach! One of my personal heroes, he played football with heart and energy and love. Off the field he was a great role model. He chose active duty in Vietnam over a cushy stateside naval job after graduating and winning the Heisman Trophy. After a four-year tour of duty, he joined the Cowboys and led them to four Super Bowls with two victories.
His off-the-field work has been just as important, if not more so.
Active in Catholic Charities for years, Staubach has given a great deal back to the many communities in which he is involved. In fact, it was his induction speech for his friend, the late Bob Hayes, that inspired me to write this series.
Staubach is a hero.
Ernie Davis said that football was just a game; he said this knowing he was dying from cancer. He took the strength and resolve that football had taught him, and he left this life with a dignity that made him a hero.
On a local level, a hero might be your local football or soccer coach who teaches his kids discipline, teamwork, work ethic and, in some way that is immeasurable, heart.
Again, on a personal note, I have been told that I have an amazing work ethic, and it has benefitted me in many ways. While I do not claim to be a hero in any respect, I can thank three men for inspiring me to work hard: one, my high school football coach, Bob Herb, who, when I was walking between drills once told me (in no uncertain terms) that leaders don’t walk, and I never walked between drills again.
Not in any sport on any level. And I don’t walk between the proverbial drills of life either. I sprint from one to another. Being a hero is not winning a game. It is overcoming an obstacle, an opponent, one’s own fears and foibles. This is how a sport can have positive influence on one’s life, and how anyone can be a hero.
About the other two heroes I mentioned, one is a friend and one is my father.
Next week I will discuss how friends and families can and should play the role of hero.
Dail’s column appears each Wednesday on the editorial page.
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Reader Reactions
Rest in peace Eddie.
In response to brady’s comment;
Being a close friend of Eddie Dail I would have to say that for myself as well as many others Eddie was a hero or at least a role model. Eddie, a local business owner, always approached his work with a certain enthusiasm. It was very difficult to not like Eddie Dail. This characteristic was found not only in his personal relationships but also in his business relationships. He was highly regarded in his field as well as in many fields of interest to him. This very column, he always said, was a way for him to explain himself and give back in a way to his community what he had experienced in his own life.
More than anything though Eddie Dail was a great friend. No matter what business or personal matter might be going on Eddie was always right there for his friends. Through everything he always stuck to his values and morals and held everyone he met in the same regard as he would hold a friend. I do hope that his column however short touched the people that read it in the way that he hoped that it would.
Please keep Eddie’s family and friends in your prayers. He will be missed.
J Fuller
and now eddie dail is dead. How bone chilling it is too read this column, written one day before eddie dail’s death.
While I agree that athletics and leadership go hand in hand, I do not add the word “hero” to an athlete whose is a role model. I made this distinction years ago when I realized that people idolized athletes and believed they could do no wrong. My definition of hero is someone who sacrifices everything for what they believe in. An example for me is a single parent who might work multiple jobs and still helps their children succeed in the school. Another example is a volunteer in our schools that sets a role model for the kids around them. To be honest very seldom do I consider sport stars to be heroes with a few exceptions like Pat Tillman. If they don’t then they are just highly paid and self-centered. Yes in sports there are role models but rarely do you see what I would call a hero, most just do their job. Nothing wrong with it mind you, but not to level of hero who sacrifices everything for what they believe in. You might have a better success rate looking in the military for a true hero…in my definition. Oh teachers, firefighters, policeman, coast guard. Next time you curse someone who gives you a written reminder to remember the speed limit and you think it’s a bunch of crap, as there are others things more important that they should do….You just saw a hero in action.
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