Role Model In Society
The year was 1993. The moment—a thirty-second Nike commercial directed by Spike Lee—featuring NBA superstar Charles Barkley. Barkley was the reigning league MVP, dominating not just on the court but also the evening news, thanks to a string of embarrassing off-court incidents. A little humility and a promise to do better might have quieted his critics. But not the Chuckster. Instead, he double-dribbled down. On camera, Barkley declared, “I’m not a role model. I’m not paid to be a role model. I’m paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.” Red herring aside—no sane person was asking Charles Barkley to raise their children—the commercial ignited a cultural firestorm, sparking a debate that still lingers to this day. What responsibilities do athletes bear in society, what is reasonable to expect of our public figures, and most importantly, precisely what does it mean to be a role...