After days of building evidence and the reading of supposed suicide notes, watching O.J. Simpson's tragic journey through the streets of Los Angeles last week finally shattered my paradigm. In the middle of live television's finest moment since the Gulf War, the voices of Bob Costas and Marv Albert disappeared behind an echo of Charles Barkley. "I am not a role model. Parents are role models." Sir Charles is right. Although Barkley's disclaimer always seemed appropriate in principle, the degree to which I myself and much of the rest of society glorifies America's athletes did not fully sink in until I came to terms with the fact the an NFL Hall of Famer was probably guilty of two counts of first degree murder. For whatever reason, I desperately wanted O.J. Simpson to be innocent. As I heard reports of evidence, scenarios churned in my head creating alibis for Simpson and reasons it could not possibly be O.J. At the same time, I can cheer for convictions in the Menendez cases. It's remarkable how biased we can be. Part of me still hopes Simpson's legal team (which would put the 1927 Yankees to shame) gets him off. Why? I never met the man. I hate the Bills. But, I'm a sports fan -- and O.J. is a symbol of excellence in sports. To me and probably many other sports fans out there, there had always been some irrational link between my heroes' talents on the playing field and their real lives. Mattingly's sweet swing or Jerome's crossover dribble -- this is the stuff that heroes are made of, the stuff that makes you smile in your sleep at night. There is no reason, however, that O.J. Simpson's speed and elusiveness carrying a football, his million dollar smile, or his name in lights at the Hertz counter should make him immune to a crime of passion. These talents shouldn't give him an immunity to anything except getting tackled. They didn't. Simpson possessed talents that were greatly revered by millions of Americans. On this campus, Jerome Allen has talents that are similarly revered. As sports fans, and especially as classmates, we must be careful not to project our heroes' talents outside of the athletic arena. Allen and every other athlete at Penn and every school in the country must be people first, students second, and athletes third. The Penn community must also keep its expectations in line with these priorities. Sometimes many of us, myself included, fail to do this. An athlete's talent too often overwhelms every other aspect of his or her being in the eyes of fans. Such talents are not correlated, positively or negatively with an individual's emotional stability or civic contributions. They are not correlated with the ability to raise a family. In short, they are not correlated with being an acceptable role model. This is not to say that many athletes don't fill their shoes as heroes and heroines well. Many do. But, it is unfair to expect every star athlete in America to set fine examples for our children. Becoming a role model should be a select opportunity, not an overwhelming burden. These athletes who affect us so greatly do so without any direct contact. Our link to them is via the media. We see these athletes on a stage, under lights, through a lens, performing with almost magical power and grace. To integrate that slice of an individual and extrapolate their whole personality and life is both misleading and unfair. It skews reality and leads to shattered paradigms. Trust me, I know. Off their stage, behind the scenes, these athletes -- our heroes -- are simply people. They are sons and daughters, neighbors, friends, teammates, and citizens of the United States. In these environments, they ought to serve as role models. On the ballfield, they must remain superstars. Period. Regardless of whether O.J. Simpson is guilty or not, he was one of the greatest running backs the NFL has ever seen. That can never be taken away from him. Convicted or freed, O.J. Simpson belongs in Canton, Ohio. Unfortunately, none of O.J.'s touchdowns will ever make him a good role model.
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