COLUMN: Who Are Our Heroes?

From Jamil Smith's, "Invisible Man," Fall '95 From Jamil Smith's, "Invisible Man," Fall '95During the winter break I was flipping through TV channels when I came across an NFL Films show on ESPN. These shows usually chronicle a past period of NFL football, showing highlights and interviews from former players. I'd seen many of these shows before, but this time I saw something that made me take a second glance. As I saw Simpson break another tackle on the highlight reel, things again were put into perspective. The Simpson (Nicole, not O.J.)–Goldman murder case is a harsh example not only of the potential fall from grace of many "American heroes," but also of the rampant idolatry that many Americans practice every day when we see professional athletes and other entertainers. One of the greatest mistakes of the American people in the past few decades was the creation of "heroes" out of 20something, overpaid professional athletes. Certainly, many kids looked up to athletes like Jim Brown, Willie Mays, Walt Frazier and Muhammad Ali. Many kids wanted to be able to hit like Ted Williams and dunk like Dr. J, but their adoration of their local players was nothing like it is today. In this brave new world of professional sports, money rules. This new reign has made endorsements, television funding and appearances elemental to its existence. The American public is being bombarded with more advertisements than actual games. Rather than expecting to see people like Shaquille O'Neal and Deion Sanders only on SportsCenter highlights, we are forced to live with them every time we turn on the television -- playing, talking, dancing, yelling, dunking and, unfortunately, rapping. As a consequence, people who don't know any better, in particular young kids and adolescents, get to feel that they "know" these strangers. The kids feel the need to emulate them -- not just what they do on the playing field, but their mannerisms off of it. For some reason, these kids feel that in order to receive the notoriety and the swollen salaries that are paid nowadays, the only way to do it is to follow the path that today's players have laid down. Players talking trash after every tackle, interception, dunk, 3-pointer and even home run has become more fashionable than actually being able to do those things. Kids want to go out to the playground and use all of their energy moving their mouth. One can talk to many youths and I would bet money that he would find that children would rather learn Sanders' stupid end zone dances than how to play the game. How can we prevent this from continuing? It is close to impossible to stop this financial monster that is eating professional sports, but it is possible to save these kids who may be consumed as well. First, parents need to wake up and realize that their child does not need a $100+ pair of Nike Air shoes every year. They don't need the new Starter hats, the Starter parkas, the Starter anything. If anything, they need to be spending that money on some extra reading and food for the family. Parents (especially those financially disadvantaged), arise from your slumber! Don't you know what your kids are spending your hard-earned money on? When they get a full-time job and are financially independent of you, then let them do whatever they like. But as long as they are under your roof, eating your food and are still children, don't let them be raised by anybody named Shaq, Deion, or any other professional athlete. It is obvious that many parents allowed their children to be raised by O.J. Simpson. When people hold signs saying "Run, O.J." as he streaks down the L.A. expressway with a gun to his head, their confused minds still think he's on that gridiron. He was no longer carrying the football; he was carrying a gun and may have well been carrying a knife on that fateful night in June. Regardless of whether or not Simpson is convicted, there will still be people calling this former running back "an American icon." I will freely admit that when I was a kid, I did "look up" to some of these "icons." Even today, I still enjoy Albert Belle's towering home runs, Mark Price's clutch 3-pointers, and Eric Metcalf's punt returns for touchdowns. But, thanks to the lessons I learned from my parents, I keep that enjoyment on a separate level from my own life. I like watching them not only because they are my hometown athletic stars, but also because they do their jobs without the unnecessary flash, trash-talking and endorsements. They have something that O'Neal and Sanders simply don't: class. But simply having class is hardly a reason to idolize these players. Our "heroes" need to be people like Cornel West, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Houston Baker. If parents are able to reclaim their kids from their new, two-dimensional surrogate parents, perhaps kids might be asking for books on their birthday instead of the latest Nike/Starter outfit. Jamil Smith is a sophomore English major from Cleveland, Ohio. Invisible Man appears alternate Tuesdays.