In the gym with my son waiting for his game. The boys on the court are 11/12. Fast break by A, B fouls him by putting him on the floor. A is up and heading for the line. B is jumping up and down in disbelief that a foul was called on him. Ref reports the foul and goes over to calm the kid down. The kid tells him to F...Off and gives him the universal bird. I'm sitting 5 rows up and heard him clear as day. The parents around me couldn't believe the ref called a T. Grab my son and start heading to the other end of the bleachers before the "hey, you're a ref" questions start.

Ref kicked him off the court, the league director was there and hopefully will not allow the kid to play this year.

These are 11 year old boys. Maybe one day I can meet an NBA player, shake his hand and let him know he has done a fine job of being a role model to emulate.

While it is a pain to field those,"Hey you are a ref," questions, this may have been a great time to EDUCATE a few parents.

A wise man once said..
 

I don't understand why the professional athletes are supposed to be the role models....for the most part these are 20 something year old kids with a lot of disposable income who surround themselves with people who tell them they are great . They are paid (and paid well) to do a job not to raise your kid ! I wish they were all like a Grant Hill or Tim Duncan but they are not they are just young kids .
My question to you is that if your kid gets caught cheating/stealing will you blame the people at Enron or Martha Stewart for being poor role models ?
I do understand what you are trying to say but you can't blame a kids behavior on the NBA.....try looking a little more closely to home

Sincerely
Charles Barkley

Screw that.

I'm with Dudly, as soon as they start looking for input from a referee in the stands I claim temporary blindness and make myself scarce.

BZ,
I agree (sometimes). Depends on what happened and how the question is being asked. In this particular case, I wouldn't even acknowledge the question.

Weekend Ref,
Just venting my dislike for the NBA

Re: A wise man once said..
 

F*** Charles Barkley.

[Edited by BktBallRef on Jan 10th, 2005 at 03:51 PM]

Re: A wise man once said..
 

As much as I enjoy Charles, this is one of the biggest loads of crap he's ever uttered. The fact is, they get paid tons of money to play basketball because they are role models. Because fans like to watch them. And because kids like to emulate them (buy the same shoes, wear the same jersey, shoot the same shots, and yes, treat the officials the same way). Any athlete who has product endorsement contracts is directly making money for being a role model.

If it weren't for the adulation and hero worship displayed towards these men, they wouldn't get paid 1/10th their salary, because the NBA wouldn't be anywhere near as profitable as it is. With that money comes a lot of responsibility.

I'm with Dudly, as soon as they start looking for input from a referee in the stands I claim <font color = red>temporary blindness</font> and make myself scarce. [/B][/QUOTE]Temporary?

I can speak for myself as a young person when I say that I do not look at professional athletes as role models, now a group that I do look at as role models are those who officiate the professional games. But maybe that's just a bias on my part :)

Where are the adults.
 

I agree with the statements of Charles Barkley on this one. I did not look up to athletes as role models. At least not they are not when it came to my life choices. I even did not try to act like any athlete on the court. I had coaches that punished us for behavior when the officials did not. Who cares what athletes do if the adults in contact with those kids take action? I worked a scrimmage right before the season and one of the players complained they did not foul when I called one. The coach immediately said, "Don't you dare say you did not foul, the official called a foul did he not?" The player got the message and we had not more complaining. This coach even said to me, "I hate it when they do that, you called the foul, it must have been a foul." I was more afraid of my parents than anything. When I was a kid and I would do things on the court of field that was suspect, it might have been my Mom that took me out of practice or off a game. If athletes are role models to these kids, the parents and coaches are dropping the ball. It is always funny when a coach starts complaining about the officiating, the players start complaining to. The coach controls himself; the players for some reason control themselves. Interesting how that works out.

Peace

I have always told my kid, there are no heroes. Does this mean that nobody's worth emulating? Not at all. But everyone has their faults, and that needs to be acknowledged right up front. Work hours and hours every day to develop your basketball skills like Jordan, or Rasheed, but when you're thinking about how to treat others, look at Steve Smith, or Buck Williams. Go ahead and develop your intellect, like Marie Curie, but don't neglect your kids. If you see each person as having strengths AND weaknesses, and strive to develop your own strengths and overcome weaknesses, it's a lot easier to admire and enjoy the accomplishments of others.

Re: Where are the adults.
 

Rut,
I agree with this, for the most part. My rant was not meant to diminish the parental and coaching responsibility here. I've seen it, too. The more a coach gripes, the more the players complain. The more he coaches, the more his players play.
Whether you or I emulated or looked up to NBA players is really irrelevant. Growing up, I looked up to such players as John Stockton, Karl Malone, Kevin Johnson, Larry Bird, etc. Guys who played hard. I looked up to them as players, however, and nothing more.
That said, there is nothing inherent in the game of basketball that makes prowess at it as valuable as it is today. That value comes strictly from the fans who watch it, and a good portion of that value comes from those who pay money knowing that kids will emulate these guys.
Are parents responsible for not stopping this behavior? Absolutely. But society is also responsible for rewarding the same behavior from our celebrities.
Advertisers know these guys are emulated, or Jordan wouldn't have made nearly what he did on endorsements. Endorsements are the purest proof of what I'm saying here. Even their regular contracts are largely resulting from being "role models" in that a good portion of the NBA's revenue comes from television; which is 100% paid for by advertising sponsors.

Parents have to teach their kids that athletes, musicians, politicians, movie stars, and other celebrities are people just like everyone else. While it's okay to admire, even adulate someone for their excellence in something we value, it's irresponsible of society to pin all the "role model" responsibility on them. They are people. People make mistakes.

Sometimes I think pro athletes get a raw deal, because whenever they screw up it's some huge deal - but if Hugh Grant gets caught with a prostitute, it's somehow less severe, and even becomes a quirky part of his charm and appeal.

I don't think Barkley ever meant that pro athletes should NEVER be concerned about being a good example to kids, he was just reminding people that parents, teachers, coaches, pastors, club leaders - people who the child spends the majority of their time with - SHOULD be the main influence in the child's life.

The fact that WE are willing to shell out big money for NBA games, merchandise, CD's, movies, etc, some of which goes to these celebrities, does not make them responsible for our kids' behaviour.

I MIGHT have stuck around to answer the questions...depends on how the day was going.

As for the role model issue. The role model in a kids life should be his/her parents and maybe their pastor/rabbi/priest. If you feel the need to have your kids look at others for examples why not have them look to a young man or woman who has agreed to risk EVERYTHING, including their life, in order to protect and preserve their way of life. Or, maybe look to the various forms of media for examples of people who overcome a lot more adversity than most kids will ever face just to compete...forget about making it as a pro.

I heard a story about a year ago about a young wrestler who was asked to face a young boy with Downs Syndrone in a wrestling match. The handicapped kid had worked for his entire high school life with the wrestling team just hoping to one day have a match. All the other wrestler was asked to do was make it look good before he won the match. When the match started, he was so impressed with the handicapped child's spirit, attitude and determination the he let himself be pinned. Either one of those young men are good examples of how you should conduct yourself at a human being.

We don't look to people like Van Cliburn, Jay Leno, Tom Cruise, etc. to be role models for our kids. They have also been blessed with a gift to entertain. So why look to a 19 year old kid the can play basketball/football/baseball?

I'll get off my soap box now...sorry

Temporary? [/B][/QUOTE]

I'm sorry, did you say something?