Fans expect too much

Why do we hold professional athletes to such a high standard?

There's a point where, as fans and observers, we have to look at these issues on a bigger scale. Pro athletes get paid a lot of money to play a game that they just so happen to be very talented at.

That is the bottom line. If Tiger Woods sucked at playing golf, no one would have cared if he cheated on his wife.

It was unfair for the media to try to pry into his life, because he made a mistake that many men wish they had an opportunity to make.

What was even more ludicrous was how people deleted his "role model" status. CNN covered a story about a man who runs a website called "Role Models on the Web."

In the CNN feature, the man said his comment box was filled with hate mail to him because he didn't take Tiger off his website.

Who are we to judge when many of us have never been in their shoes?

We want our athletes to be great people on and off the playing field, but why? When theysigned their contract, did it say anything about being a role model to the people? I doubt it.

I do admit though that certain instances like Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson flooding the Detroit stands and beating up Pistons fans, or baseball players using and lying about steroids are not acceptable by any means.

The point to be understood is when you hear about talented athletes shooting themselves in the leg (Plaxico Burress), or being accused of rape (Kobe Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger), it shouldn't be a disappointment to fans so much as to their character, but how they represent themselves.

We also have to worry about what the consequences will be on their playing availability.

I learned my lesson during high school.

I looked up to a certain athlete in every way, but he got caught up in a dog fighting scandal, changing the whole path of his career.

I realized that we can't count on people that we don't personally know, because it's too much of a letdown when they aren't the person you want them to be.

Athletes should be admired mostly for their talent, and carefully for their character.