Unlike in earlier times, athletes no longer have the privacy that was enjoyed by athletes such as Babe Ruth, Red Grange, Sonia Heine, and Helen Wills. Because sports are so popular in American culture, media coverage of sports is huge. Due to the expansion of the different forms of media, we also get inside scoop on the lives of athletes. This raises many questions: Are athletes also celebrities? What is different about athlete compared to other entertainers such as actors, actresses, and singers? Many of these questions are answered in the article, "Role Model: A Critical Assessment of the Application of the Term to Athletes," by Todd W. Crosset.

Since media coverage of sports is so extensive, many kids are attracted to sports and athletes. Children look up to many athletes in similar ways that they would look up to other celebrities. This also raises more

My opinion on this topic of sports and media on whether athletes should be called role-models or not mirrors what the author states in his article. First of all, although athletes have skills that our kids may want to have, they do not always share the same values or beliefs as we do. For example, although Babe Ruth was considered a hero and role-model, there are many things he did in his personal life that were hidden by the media that we would never want our kids to do. I believe that although kids may think what athletes do at a game might be "cool," we do not know enough about there values for that "cool" quality to make the athlete a role model for our kids.

When Magic Johnson was diagnosed with AIDS, we were all reminded that a role-model to many kids was once again taken away. This is similar to OJ Simpson's case. When he was accused of a crime, he also was reminded of his status and how he had disappointed many people. When the term "role model" is used in this sense, it is almost as though we were expecting something more from these athletes than their athletic abilities. We were expecting them to be something they never claimed to be. Therefore, the use of the terms role model may be racist in a way and not the right term to use.

A reason the article states of the importance of having a role model in our society today, is because the majority of families do not live up to the definition of the "traditional" family. Because of families with two parents working, the child may not have someone to look up to such as a hero, and therefore we find it important to have a role-model for these kids. The kids are treated as social problems for which we need to find a solution. Although role models for kids are usually parents, coaches, and teachers, the use of athletes as role models is very appealing in the dy

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