By Billy Adams
Back in March Wayne Rooney was interviewed by the Guardian newspaper in the UK. “The England squad must be better role models”, said the Manchester United star. He went on to add. "It is difficult as a footballer because you know people look up to you. You are role models whether you like it or not.” He also added, not without irony now that footballers had to “try to do things well for kids to see.”
The Guardian article was written well before the England striker’s latest scandal, but it does show that he is aware of the fact that he is a role model, as are his fellow England team mates. Yet how far has he strayed from his own ideals? Is he still an acceptable role model for our children?
Wayne Rooney is (or perhaps was) a role model to many people, for various reasons around the globe. Should he have taken more care with his actions due to the fact he is such a major role model, or should he just live life how he wants to?
The public are not really asking for anything much from him or other any other sports stars for that matter, just professionalism. When a player such as Rooney is in the news many people tend to follow it. This number would of course include the easily impressionable members of society, like children.
When children see their idols in the press and on the TV, they pay attention so if their idol is encouraging a positive action like telling them to work hard at school they may be inclined to do so. But on the downside they can also see how their role models can make bad decisions, those actions can affect them just as much.
At times it can be quite worrying how little privacy our nation’s stars get, and it could be argued that sooner or later they are bound to get caught doing something immorally indefensible as many people have judged Rooney’s recent contract actions to be. However while this show that they are only human after all, does a huge salary mean that sports people like Rooney have to be beyond reproach at all time?
With a world so fixated on its celebrities, social networking has become a major pratfall for the famous with sites such as Twitter and Facebook feeding the world a never ending stream of tittle tattle and gossip.
It may be that a good role model is a thing of the past or at the very least a much harder thing to come by.
Top Picture Credit Flickr User Malias
Image Credit Rooney and Ronaldo
