The Sport Report

Have sports stars stopped being heroes? It’s a fair question, especially in the wake of what we have seen lately. In a way, the recent “tabloid” coverage that we have seen in terms of our favorite sports stars is more of a reflection of how we have changed compared to how sports stars have changed. It used to be that if a sports star was doing something naughty, he was typically left alone by the sports media. Now a days, they become 24 hour fodder for the tabloid media. In a way, sports star’s behavior hasn’t changed, just our access to their private lives have. If you really think that Tiger Woods was the first sport’s star, or championship golfer, to have a bevy of women on the side, well, you need to wake up.

The truth is, there are plenty of sports star’s out there that children, and adults, can look up to. While you never know what is going on in someone’s private life (nor, in truth, should you really care), there are plenty of athletes who practice the art of giving back to the community. These include athletes like Tim Duncan, Jamie Moyer, Carson Palmer, Peyton Manning and man, many more. The thing is, people need to be honest about what kind of hero they want in their life. Nobody is perfect, and when it comes to sports you can typically find a reason to complain about someone’s conduct. Heck, all in all the two athletes who have helped raise the most money for charity in recent years are none other then Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods, and you hear about them in the news all the time.

There are plenty of heroes to go around in sports, many of whom do not get the attention that the big stars get. If you are going to pick a sports star as your personal hero, you need to understand that they are real humans with real flaws. It can be hard to accept, but you have to treat them like any other person in that aspect.