COLUMN: Hey, football players, leave us kids alone
If I had children, I wouldn’t let them anywhere near these guys.
NFL players frequently spend time with children as part of community service, teaching them the value of reading and education. But lately the “bad boys” of football are spending more than their fair share of time with these children.
Albert Haynesworth of the Tennessee Titans has been in the news more than once for aggressive behavior since being drafted in 2002. His most recent media spotlight comes after intentionally stepping on the face of Dallas center Andre Gurode, resulting in seven cuts which required 30 stitches to patch up.
His penalty? An unheard-of record five-game suspension. With five weeks of nothing to do on his hands, what does Haynesworth plan to do with his time? Eat pizza with children at a Nashville community center while watching his team play.
What!? Why on earth are they letting this guy anywhere near children?
With all the violence on television and intense video games, the children of today have plenty of problems with violence. They definitely should not be hanging around with a guy like Haynesworth.
Now I don’t believe Haynesworth will do anything to harm the children while he is there. I’m sure he will be well-behaved (for a change) and eat more than his fair share of pizza. But honestly, is this the type of person children should be looking at as a role model?
I know there’s the common phrase, “Spare the rod and spoil the child,” but Haynesworth brings a whole new meaning to that. In 2002, he walked onto a practice field with a long metal pole, looking for a teammate he was angry with. Talk about a temper!
Children need role models to build them up and show them the proper way to act. Why not send in Drew Brees or former NFL quarterback Steve Young, players who have exhibited top sportsmanship?
If this were the only incident where an NFL player was tied to children, there wouldn’t be anything exciting about it, but sadly it’s not. The next instance is even more ridiculous.
NFL fans have long been entertained and repulsed simultaneously by Terrell Owens’ flagrant trash talk and taunting. From the moment he pulled out his famous marker to sign the football, he has been labeled as an NFL “bad boy.”
Lately, he’s taken on a different look: drama queen. Apparently it’s hard to take the right amount of medicine with all the stress of playing your former team. Owens apparently overdosed on hydrocodone, a pain medication, but later said it was an accident and he was happy to be in Dallas.
But wait, things with good ol’ T.O. just get better. Taking his Sharpie scheme one step further than signing a football, he’s taken it to paper to write a series of children’s books called “T.O.’s Timeout Series.”
The first book is called “Little T Learns to Share,” where fictional character Little T learns the value of sharing after he realizes it’s no fun to play football all by himself.
Perhaps Owens had a glimpse of the future where nobody wanted to play with him because of his own childish behavior. It is rumored he decided to write the book in response to television commentators calling his actions childish. I guess it was time to give back to the community by writing a children’s book.
Again, the question stands: Why is this guy a role model for children? Sure, the moral of the story is great, but when was the last time T.O. shared anything besides a high-five?
Then again, this series might just be what Owens needs to humble himself and get back to his roots. In high school, he was just an average player. Through hard work and dedication, he pushed himself to become one of the top receivers in the NFL.
That’s the type of story children should be reading to encourage them to reach for their dreams and let nothing stand in their way. What a role model to look at now. What’s the lesson being learned instead by watching Owens? Throw a fit, tear others down and spend as much time as possible drawing attention to oneself rather than supporting the team.
If children learn anything from today’s players, it will be that athletes can do whatever they want and it’s OK. That is not the message children should be getting. Athletics are about team work, hard work and dedication. Maybe that’s old-fashioned, but there have been plenty of great players who accomplished amazing feats and stayed humble all the while. Those are the people who should be teaching children.
If the NFL wants to shake the growing image of their athletes being violent and irresponsible, they need to start putting better people forward.
As it stands, I’m just waiting for Miami and Florida International University to send their suspended players to a children’s center to serve their community service.
Seth Hawkins is a sophomore majoring in public relations. He can be found watching constant replays of Brett Favre exhibiting real football talent. Comments can be sent to him at sethhawkins@cc.usu.edu