This week, Super Bowl ring-wearing, Pittsburgh Steeler’s superstar Ben Roethlisberger was injured in a motorcycle accident while he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Roethlisberger had often been asked by the media about his dangerous actions but always stated it was merely his choice to not wear the protective gear. Because Pennsylvania (and many other states) has no mandatory helmet law, Roethlisberger was free to ride unencumbered and unprotected.
Winston Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” It only took one very close call for Ben to learn this lesson.
No matter how much athletes, movie stars and other celebrities would like to escape it, they become role models for all those who look up to them. The power famous people have over the younger generations of America is easy to see. Take for example something as simple as the Gap T-shirt, made famous by Sharon Stone and the too-often heard media stories where children have copied a move from a music video and been seriously hurt, or taken someone’s lyrics too seriously and injured someone.
Freedom of expression, the favorite cop-out of the elite, is guaranteed to all of us but it doesn’t remove from anyone the moral responsibility to analyze whether your expression could cloud the judgment of others or put them in danger.
Fortunately, many franchises and companies are looking for celebrities to endorse their products who have a clean and responsible image. Nike, the quintessential sports endorsement company of our time, has given San Diego Chargers player LaDainian Tomlinson the newest shoe endorsement. Tomlinson, only 26 years old, has been recognized and lauded by the media for being clean, well-spoken and responsible.
The San Diego Union Tribune visited with Tomlinson as his new shoe line was unveiled at a local mall, where an audience of young, wide-eyed children listened as Tomlinson preached about responsibility, doing well in school and obeying your parents.
“For some reason they think we’re their heroes, and if that’s the way it is, then you want to do whatever it takes to make sure you’re somebody that they want to look up to and not be put in a situation where you’re going to embarrass someone,” Tomlinson said to the Union Tribune. “I think whether we want to be or not, we are role models, so we should treat it like that.”
L.T. deserves a round of applause.
Sure, parents should be able to influence and discuss with their children that the people on TV aren’t who they should emulate. But if celebrities will be emulated, more attention should be given to those who are using their fame to improve the world.
People like Magic Johnson whose millions have helped to rebuild poor neighborhoods, Jimmy Carter who has used his political power to spawn humanitarian missions all over the world, Oprah Winfrey, a woman who not only donates millions to countless charities but can make dreams come true for the ordinary people who sit in her audience and Marlo Thomas, unpaid spokeswoman for Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital, should be the top headliners on celebrity news.
As the gap between the rich and the poor grows larger and larger, children need to know that a fast 40-yard dash or spectacular slam dunk is not what makes a person great. Success really comes from responsibility, intelligence, personal integrity and utilizing your resources to help others.
Leah Finney Leah Finney is a senior in agriculture. She can be reached at [email protected].
