This document discusses the social influence of professional athletes and the media's role in shaping perceptions. It argues that the media glorifies athletes and equates them with success, influencing youth. This creates pressure for kids to specialize in sports to attain scholarships or professional careers. However, most will not succeed and risks of overuse include injury and steroid abuse. The document examines how the media conditions audiences and meets psychological needs, lacking responsibility to address issues like unrealistic standards it promotes.

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Raheem Cardwell
Dr. Goodwin
Media Criticism
4/24/12
Examining the Social Influence of Athletes
Professional athletes in the United States enjoy celebrity status. People of all ages are
captivated by the lives and careers of these individuals. However, because professional athletes
have such a significant influence on society it is important to examine the role of these
individuals from a social and ethical perspective. Such analysis poses questions about the social
responsibility athletes have to their communities. In depth exploration of this topic provides
insight into the social effect of athletes and the need for society to hold these individuals to an
increasingly higher standard.
Social Influence of Athletes
Athletes make up a class within the American society that is both preferred and
exclusive. Many young Americans strive diligently to obtain the skills and resources needed to
become professional athletes. Children are motivated to become athletes because in many cases
it provides them with a higher social status. Parents of children tend to foster this desire for more
economic reasons. For example, youth who excel in sports may receive scholarships to colleges
or universities. If a youth grows into a professional athlete there is a very good chance he or she
will make a significant amount of money as well.
The media plays a substantial role in creating the ideal image when it comes to
professional athletes. Various forms of media provide feedback constantly about the
characteristics associated with good athletes. The media rarely acknowledges the difficulty
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athletes face when it comes to living up to very high standards and ideas. However, the media
also contributes to the problem by emphasizing this ideal over other factors related to the athlete.
The majority of focus is on the athlete's physique and performance (Moses 48).
Athletes have a strong influence on people from all aspects of society, including
politicians. Edwin Moses explained that politicians are less concerned with the problematic
aspects of professional sports such as drug abuse, and more concerned with the amount of
revenue professional sports provide. "Politicians want new stadiums built for their constituents,
and photo opportunities with the big-name pro sports stars" (48).
Social Influence of the Media
The effects theory, pertaining to the social effect of the media, examines the impact of
media on the audience. This particular theory holds that the audience has little if any power to
resist the messages delivered by the media - particularly the larger media outlets. The theory
describes the audience as consumers of the media products, who are heavily influenced by the
material presented. The impact of the media is both intended and unintended. However, if
theories such as the effect theory have any true basis it means that the media has an ethical
obligation to address this effect by reporting in a responsible way.
The effect theory has a strong foundation when looking at psychological theories, such as
behaviorism. Conditioning is a form of learning that occurs through repetition. Two forms of
conditioning exist, such as operant and classical. The traditional theory of learning through
conditioning, known as classical conditioning, occurs when a response becomes paired with a
neutral stimulus. When the neutral stimulus is combined with a particular response repeatedly it
causes the response to occur nationally upon presentation of the stimulus. This was observed in
dogs that salivated to the sound of a tuning fork or bell in Ivan Pavlov's early studies on
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digestion. Classical conditioning was discovered by accident, but it has significant implications
on behavioral training (Trick, Hogarth, and Duka 758).
Studies have found that the media is most influential when it invokes an emotional
response or tells a kind of story in the narrative sense. Professional athletes are heavily profiled
in the media because the stories of these players are easily transferable to a narrative that may
invoke an emotional response and maintain the attention of the media's audience. The reaction to
these forms of media is known as transportation. When transportation occurs, the person
experiencing the media in either print of visual form, becomes immersed in the experience.
Though the activity of reading or viewing the media source requires concentration, it can feel
effortless to the person doing it (Green, Kass, Carrey, Herzig, Feeney, and Sabini, 514).
When the media repeatedly covers topics that promote transportation in the audience the
effect is akin to conditioning. A person may experience an emotional reaction upon reading
about an athlete or viewing media pertaining to the athlete. Feelings such as admiration, envy,
desire, pride, and others are quickly associated with the image of the professional athlete. The
audience may not realize the impact the media is having on them as they are more likely to focus
on the emotional reaction they have, regardless of the degree; however, these correlations are
made inside of a person's mind (Green, Kass, Carrey, Herzig, Feeney, and Sabini, 519).
The media equates professional sports with success. Inspirational stories are told about
how some people fight hard to reach the point of playing for a professional team. Emotions are
linked with stories about professional athletes who are injured, only to recover and return to the
game they purportedly love. The difficulty of becoming a professional athlete, the money
associated with the salary of professional athletes, and the lifestyle people perceive these
individuals as living is very alluring.
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People from any kind of background in America can hold out hope of becoming a
professional athlete. Though there is significant emphasis on being exposed to the right clubs and
training at an early age, the media has published countless stories about athletes who seemed to
beat all of the odds. Inspirational stories have a dramatic effect on people, particularly vulnerable
populations such as children and young adults who are seeking to find their way in the world. It
is difficult, from a perspective of critical analysis, for these people to balance the concepts
presented by the media with the realities of being a professional athlete. For example,
professional athletes face enormous pressure to sustain a body that is promoted by the same
media that glorifies the athlete's very existence. Though this is hypocritical, it is not presented as
such.
The media meets the needs of the consumers it serves. When looking at Maslow's
Hierarchy of needs it becomes easier to see how the media addresses and meets very specific
needs. Higher needs on the pyramid, such as social and ego are the ones that have the greatest
effect (Waclawksy 36). The social need pertains to the desire people have to be accepted. The
media presents athletes as an exclusive group of people who are not just accepted by society, but
are admired. From an ego perspective, the media propels the image of the professional sports
athlete as a person who has status and prestige. The impact this has on the consumer is that they
can experience that same status and prestige by becoming professional athletes. This effect is
well documented within literature addressing the pressure children have to get involved in sports.
This pressure is felt on the part of the children's parents as well. This issue will be further
addressed in more detail.
At the top of Maslow's pyramid is self-actualization. This is the hardest state to reach for
any human being and yet it is the one that holds the greatest amount of promise. The media does
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not focus heavily on self-actualization from a direct perspective because of the implications
(Datta 40). However, the idea is that a person cannot achieve this elevated state of being without
having all underlying needs met first. Social and ego needs are the more difficult needs to fulfill.
These are the two the media emphasizes to the greatest degree when it comes to professional
sports and athletes. The media thereby ignores lower level needs such as safety by failing to hold
professional athletes responsible for their function as a role model. To be fair, this is a
conundrum because the media propels this image and makes the athletes appealing to the public,
but this does not detract from the responsibility a professional athlete has when it comes to living
up to their status.
The effect of the media is not always bad. In fact, the effect can be very positive and the
media, when used responsibility, can act as an impetus for people to accomplish great things.
The foundation of media is to collect and disseminate information to large audiences. An
informed audience is in a better position to make decisions, provided the audience receives a
balanced assessment of the facts and recognizes fallacies in arguments made by politicians,
leaders, reporters, and other sources of information.
It is important to note that the average person trusts the media to do all of the above.
Younger people are especially susceptible to the messages the media sends and to the effect the
information has because they lack experience when it comes to deconstructing problematic
arguments. Some people, including young people, fail to engage in critical thinking on a constant
basis. Instead of digging beneath the surface of what the media presents, these people take it all
at face value.
The question that remains is whether or not the media has an obligation to address this
tendency on the part of people to accept the information at face value. The argument proposed
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here is that the media does have a social responsibility to inform the public of all sides of a
situation and to be mindful of the effect the media has on its consumers. Examination of
increased use of substances such as steroids demonstrates that young people have the belief that
improving their body is a step in the right direction toward becoming competitive as athletes.
Analysis of these issues demonstrates the lack of responsibility the media has shown
when it comes to holding professional athletes, trainers, coaches, and others responsible for not
educating the public on these matters properly. Moreover, knowing that the media has such a
dramatic effect on the consumer, the media then has a clear responsibility to think about matters
such as the ideal professional athlete and consider how the media perpetrates the false images
that youth are exposed to every day.
Impact on Youth
Many American children are encouraged to play sports early in their lives. Sports vary
somewhat in terms of popularity within different regions of the United States. Emphasis on
specific types of sports or athletic activities is usually based on regional and parental preferences.
On a country-wide basis, preferences in sports have changed over the past decades. Baseball and
football have traditionally been the more popular sports in the past, but that has changed in the
last decade. Basketball has emerged as the most popular team sport for children. Approximately
10 million youth play basketball on average (Woods 105).
In American communities parents are encouraged to get their children involved in sports
from a young age and to work toward getting on an elite team. Many families believe that getting
their children on elite or select teams early helps to secure the chances the youth will achieve
success later in school. This is somewhat erroneous because a number of professional athletes
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were unable to play on teams while in high school. Michael Jordan was cut from the high school
basketball team when he was in the ninth grade (Woods 114).
Many sports are seasonal, but overspecialization is a common phenomenon in American
society. Some sports that are seasonal in certain regions are extended in others due to climate or
other factors. Overspecialization appears to result from the desire of parents to help their children
achieve success in sports. However, this approach tends to produce more negative results than
positive ones. Kids who are pressured into playing one sport in particular are much more likely
to lose interest. The overexposure also hurts the children's chance of becoming successful at
another sport because if they reach a barrier in one sport, it becomes harder to try an alternate
sport (Woods 114).
The social pressure of becoming involved in sports is significant for many families.
"Pressure builds on kids and families to commit time, money, and long seasons and off-seasons
to one sport" (Woods 115). Parents recognize that the chances of their children becoming
professional athletes are small, but many describe feeling a strong need to encourage their kids to
get involved in sports anyway. Some parents provide justification for this by stating that it could
help the children to obtain a college scholarship.
Critics have analyzed this topic and determined that the costs associated with competitive
sports are high. Many families pay between $10,000 and $20,000 a year for a child involved in
sports. This money could be invested in an educational fund to ensure he or she has the money
for school. In fact, parents have no guarantee that colleges and universities will provide a
scholarship to their child. First, not all children are good enough at their respective sports to get a
scholarship. Second, budget cuts nationwide have reduced the number of scholarships available,
including athletic scholarships (Woods 115).
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Pressures of Sports
Professional athletes live under a microscope. The physical aspect of their appearance is
scrutinized almost as much as their skills as an athlete. For this reason, many athletes have used
various substances to enhance athletic performance. A common performance-enhancement
substance used by athletes is anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). Nutritional supplements are
also used to increase or improve performance. The difference between the two is that one is
highly regulated and the rest are widely available (Millman and Ross 48).
Steroids are effective when it comes to producing desired physical changes, such as
increased muscle mass. However, steroids have a number of negative side effects. Steroids are
the most commonly abused drug among athletes, professional body builders, and most recently,
adolescents. Anabolic steroids are a class of drug designed to simulate the effect that the
hormone testosterone has on the human body. There are two main effects of laboratory-produced
steroids: androgenic and anabolic. Androgenic effects are those that increase a person’s
development of primarily male sexual characteristics, such as facial hair and chest hair. The
anabolic steroids are much more sought after as the effects include an increase in muscle and
body mass (Bonetta 19). Many people are unaware of the danger such usage can cause and
others choose to ignore the danger completely.
The use of steroids, without the medical supervision of a doctor, is illegal due to the
number of health risks associated with using the drug. Some of these health risks include, but are
not limited to: tumors, cancer, jaundice, severe acne, trembling, and behavioral abnormalities.
There are a number of risks that pertain mostly to male gendered users, such as: low sperm
count, infertility, baldness, prostate cancer, and a number of other unpleasant side effects. In
women the drug has been known to promote the growth of facial hair, deepen the woman’s
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voice, and even cause baldness. For adolescents the results are more severe and often more
permanent as the use of anabolic steroids among adolescents interrupts the normal pattern of
growth and development (Grimes and Melloni 1242).
For the above reasons, the use of steroids is highly regulated. Steroid use among athletes
is The drug causes many physical and psychological problems among its users – some of which
are irreversible. In the past decade the amount of adolescents using the drug has increased
exponentially The use of steroids among adolescents is directly related to pressures to become
involved in athletics (Grimes and Melloni 1248). Public awareness needs to be raised about this
important issue to education people on the dangers of using steroids, but the increase in the
number of adolescents using the substance point to other social issues as well.
There is a lack of data available when it comes to the prevalence of steroid abuse within
the United States. It is known that steroid abuse occurs in people of various ages and is most
commonly abused among athletes. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) estimates that
between one and six percent of athletes use anabolic steroids. Many of the studies done on drug
use in the Unites States do not currently include the use of steroids (Denham 2050).
It is also difficult to determine how many professional and non-professional athletes use
dietary supplements to enhance performance. There are a number of these supplements that are
legal and available over-the-counter. These substances are not regulated and they are not
approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Consistent and reliable studies have not been
done to determine the effects of these drugs. One supplement that is available is known as
“Andro”. This is a legal substance that, when introduced into the body, is converted into
testosterone. Even though it is proven that the substance converts into a form of testosterone in
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the body, scientists have not been able to confirm that the substance results in any of the desired
effects the users expect from the substance (Millman and Ross, 49).
There are other steroidal supplements available on the market, such as creatine. Very
little is known about the long term effects of these supplements. If these supplements
successfully increase the amount of testosterone in a person’s body, the side effects can
reasonably be expected to be similar to those directly linked with the use of steroids.
Supplements have varying degrees of risk, depending on the individual supplement and its side
effects.
The increased use of steroids and steroid-related performance enhancement substances
has become more popular among adolescents. A reason for this might be that more youth are
looking for ways to achieve a competitive edge in sports. Another might be the lack of
knowledge and education in reference to the negative side effects both in the short-term and in
the long-term (Denham 2045).
The perceived dangers of the drug have decreased among high school seniors over the
past ten years. In 1998, a little over 68% of high school seniors perceived the drug to be
extremely harmful; while in 2005, that number dropped to almost 58%. A 2006 study funded by
NIDA determined that 2.7% of all high school seniors have abused steroids. This number has
increased since 2000, when the same study reported that 2.5% of seniors had abused the drug.
The use of steroids has increased among high school girls as well. Between 1991 and 1996 the
rate of steroid use among these girls doubled (Denham 2050).
In 2005 the Center for Disease Control reported the results of their own study which
showed that nearly 5% of all high school students have used a form of steroids without a doctor’s
prescription at least once. In 2006, when high school students were asked to report how easy it
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was for students to obtain steroids over 60% of high school seniors reported that it was “fairly
easy” or “very easy” (Denham 2050).
There are a lack of studies that evaluate the true influence of professional athletes and
athletics on adolescents. For example, a few studies explore the use of steroids among children
and teenagers, but only touch the surface when it comes to identifying the reasons why the
numbers of adolescents who use abuse these substances are increasing. Future studies should
seek to examine the extent of the correlation between the idealization of professional athletes
among adolescents and their corresponding use of performance enhancing substances.
The media is a significant contributor to the problem of steroid use among professional
athletes. Media sources evaluate athletes according to their physique and performance in the
athlete's sport. The media has long been responsible for perpetuating images of the ideal male
and female body. The ideal image of the professional athlete depends partially on the sport.
However, commonalities are found such as emphasis on muscle mass among the men and lean
muscle among the women (Radomski 42).
The problem with the media's role in perpetuating the image of the ideal athlete is two-
fold. First, the media praises and celebrates male professional athletes who are bigger and
stronger than their competitors. A great deal of focus in American society is placed on achieving
the perfect body. In many sports, strength and muscle mass as associated with high athletic
performance. While this may or may not be the case in all sports, it is a persistent belief
(Radomski 43).
Accounts of steroid use and abuse in professional sports are abundant. Baseball is an
example of a sport that has experienced a high prevalence of steroid abuse. The problem became
serious throughout the 1990s. Kirk Radomski was a clubhouse employee and batboy for the New
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York Mets between 1985 and 1995. He was eventually prosecuted for his role in distributing
various types of drugs to major league baseball players, including steroids. Radomski stated the
following: "There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that just about everybody in the game,
from the clubbies to the team owners, knew that players were using anabolic steroids, human
growth hormones, and other substances. It was a secret shared by thousands of people" (44).
The problem of steroid abuse among athletes has been documented throughout the media
over the past few decades. Despite knowledge that the problem is prevalent and serious, the
media has never taken action to redefine the ideal image of the professional athlete. Teenagers
are especially vulnerable to this false image. In 2005, Donald Hooten and Frank Marrero testified
before the House Government Reform Committee about their sons' abuse of steroids. Both boys
committed suicide as teenagers. The teenagers viewed a number of professional baseball players
as role model. The father of one child testified that the professional baseball players who served
as his son's role models were cowards (Rutstein 95).
A second way the media contributes to this problem relates to the way it approaches
coverage of scandals or issues involving a professional athlete's use of steroids. The media
focuses far less on the dangers of using steroids among professional players, the pressure placed
on athletes to conform to ideal body standards, and additional underlying problems that
accompany steroid abuse. Instead, the media focuses on the sensational aspect of steroid abuse in
terms of emphasizing stories where a professional athlete is penalized for using steroids, without
delving into the aspects of that abuse that might be less appealing to the reader. For example,
steroids is known to negatively interfere with all aspects of a person's life (Stone 42).
Though the media is quick to report a professional athletes abuse, or suspected abuse of
steroids, there is little to no push for the professional athletes who use steroids to accept the
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responsibility of failing as role models. Instead, the media addresses the legal ramifications of
steroid abuse as well as the consequences in sports such as the removal of an athlete from a
professional team.
The media places no real accountability on the people who make the abuse of steroids
possible in professional sports either. The media does not suggest that people who turn a blind
eye to the problem or even directly contribute to it should be held to a greater degree of
accountability. This sends a confusing and contradictory message to the public. People who read
or view the media may question the true dangers of abusing steroids, especially since some
coaches and other people who are charged with taking the health of professional athletes very
seriously, allow steroid abuse on their teams. The media's failure to demand accountability is a
major problem that downplays the health perspectives that are so dramatic in the lives of those
who use steroids.
The media, in many forms, trivializes the issue of steroids in smaller and more subtle
ways as well. An example of this pertains to the abundantly used expression within the media
that something is on steroids as an equivalent to describing it as being bigger or better. This type
of word usage associates an otherwise negative word with positive words. This practice seems
small and meaningless, but combined with other factors it can be influential.
The media has the power to increase accountability among professional athletes and those
who work with them. The media is used by the public as a social advocacy tools in some
situations. Further, the media is a means of collecting and disseminating information to the
public. This means that the media has the power and ability to prompt others to take action when
it comes to this matter, such as requiring better monitoring of players and their use of illegal
substances. However, the media has yet to take advantage of this ability.
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Athletes as Role Models
Cora Caulfield examined the issue relating to professional athletes as role models to
America's youth. Caulfield pointed out that there are few professional athletes who are known
both for their athletic performance and their academic accomplishments. An easy answer to this
issue is that many professional athletes do not take ownership of their status as a role model.
Caulfield wrote, "Charles Barkley once said in a Nike commercial, 'I am not a role model. I'm
not paid to be a role model. I'm paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court.'" (21).
While it is true that athletes are primarily paid to perform well at a particular sport, many
athletes receive endorsements from major companies. Many changes have occurred in America
regarding a company's role within its community and its obligations to its stakeholders. This
matter is referred to as corporate social responsibility. The two concepts are related because
when a company endorses a professional athlete and uses his or her image to sell a brand, the
company becomes responsible to some degree for the individual's actions. For example, if an
athletic shoe company endorses an athlete who commits a crime or does something society
deems negative, the company is likely to withdraw the endorsement. If the company does not do
this and society is outraged by the behavior of the athlete, it reflects very poorly on the company
and impedes its ability to sell products.
The issue of athletes and their academic performance is an important one that is generally
ignored in the media and literature. Caulfield touched on the matter by addressing the low
percentage of African America athletes who graduate from college. The National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) examined graduation success rates (GSR) and "found that in 2002
there was a 63% GSR for African American student-athletes compare to an 84% GSR for White
student-athletes" (Caulfield 21).
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In athletic programs there is significantly less emphasis on academics, but this is the
same for students regardless of their race or ethnicity. The above information suggests a
significant disparity when it comes to graduation rates for African Americans when compared to
their White counterparts. The literature does not specifically address potential causes of this
discrepancy and does not seek to identify the underlying causes.
Caulfield suggested that the media is irresponsible in its handling of professional athletes.
The media places a substantial emphasis on athletes and helps to propel the lifestyle as a cultural
ideal. For many African American families who live at or below the poverty threshold, this ideal
might appear to be the only way a child in the family can achieve success. The media is
responsible for delivering the message to these children athletic achievement is more important
than a person's academic accomplishments. "Instead, media - and society as a whole - should
also emphasize education and academic accomplishments" (Caulfield 21).
Society can change the emphasis on athletics to encompass academics as well. For
example, schools at all levels can reconstruct the social ideal of the student-athlete who is also
known for his or her scholastic achievements. Placing a greater degree of responsibility on
athletes in terms of highlighting those who strive to behave as role models is one way the idea
can be changed over time. However, this is something that would need to take place within the
school and also within the media.
Finding positive role models who have excelled at athletics is not impossible. Paul
Robeson graduated at the top of his class and received 15 varsity letters in football, track,
basketball, and baseball. He went on to earn a law degree and has become well known for his
athletics and his social activism. Robeson is a good example of a person who did not seek to
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become overspecialized in one sport, and maintained a strong emphasis on academics throughout
his life (Caulfield 22).
Though it is not impossible to find examples of professional athletes who have excelled
in sports and academics, it is difficult to find much emphasis of these types of achievements in
the media. The media plays a significant role in perpetuating the social ideal attached to being a
professional athlete, but it also focuses a great deal on the negative aspects of athletic
involvement, such as various scandals, crimes committed by athletes, and other topics.
The topic of academic and athletic success has been examined from both sides of the
issue. For example, one study examined the impact of athletic involvement as it pertained to
other academic successes. An interesting component of this particular study related to the
recommendations given for improving academic performance among children and teens through
the use of athletic programs. The study pointed out that many students benefit from involvement
in sports (DeMeulenaire 127).
The above study found that the strong social connections children and teenagers make
while participating in athletics can have a positive impact on academic performance. A review of
literature pertaining to academic performance and participation in sports has shown that in
schools requiring minimum grades for those who are involved in sports, there is a relationship
between "student involvement in sports and high achievement" (DeMeulenaire 129).
Involvement in sports for children and teenagers increases the opportunity for the
development of friendships. "Not only do coaches inspire college aspirations in students, so do
peer relationships developed through participation in sports" (DeMeulenaire 132). The positive
correlation between youth participation in sports and academic achievement occurs in
environments where the parents and schools hold the youth accountable for their grades. Schools
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that place a combined emphasis on academics and sports have a higher number of high-school
athletes who go on to attend college (132).
Much of the existing literature does not examine a correlation between high school
sports, college aspirations, and later graduation from college. There is a gap in the literature
when it comes to investigating how high-school sports, combined with a focus on academic
achievement, impact the students in college. For instance, such a study should look at the college
graduate rates when compared with the aspirations of those in high school to attend college and
continue to play sports on a professional basis (DeMeulenaire 132).
Another important perspective to analyze when looking at professional athletes as role
models is the occurrence of various types of crime within professional sports. The media reports
heavily on topics relating to sports or crime. When the two are combined, the media is sure to
cover it. An issue with the media, that has been addressed in at least one study, is the tendency to
link criminal behavior on the part of athletes with matters such as race and ethnicity.
African Americans experience the most significant disparity when it comes to the
reporting of crime, race, and other factors relating to a professional athlete. When analyzed in
comparison with the actual data pertaining to crime among professional athletes it becomes clear
that a true gap exists because minorities are "disproportionately presented (compared with real-
world demographics in sports) and characterized in a manner likely to promote unfavorable
intergroup outcomes" (Mastro, Blecha, and Seate 526). The media has a responsibility to correct
this and make a conscious effort to report accurately.
Social Responsibility
The strong impact of professional athletes raises important questions about social
responsibility on the parts of the athletes and the media. Corporations who endorse athletes are
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held responsible through their stakeholders, particularly if the company is publicly traded and
has shareholders. However, the media has not been held to a similar standard when it comes to
social responsibility and the way it represents professional athletes. Further research is necessary
to identify the best practices for restructuring the social ideal pertaining to athletes.
Aside from restructuring the ideal, the media has a social responsibility to the public to
report honestly and to also take action to present all sides of the picture. For instance, the media
focuses heavily on the penalties of abusing drugs in professional sports. However, the media
does not thoroughly examine the consequences of substance abuse from other perspectives. The
media does not hold anyone else accountable for allowing substance abuse to be such a
significant part of professional sports.
The media has also failed to investigate the regulation of substance use and abuse in
professional sports. Geoffrey Rapp wrote, "Performance-enhancing substance use has attracted
considerable political and media attention. However, relatively little analysis of the reasons for
regulating substance use in professional sports exists" (599). This is problematic because it does
not fully address the dangers of these drugs, nor does it seek to hold people accountable for using
them, distributing them, or ignoring use.
Politicians, including the President of the United States have made numerous comments
and speeches lauding professional sports players for their strength and muscle mass. The
President discussed this in his annual State of the Union address that occurred in 2004. He
addressed both Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro. Each of these players are known or highly
suspected of having used artificial muscle enhancing substances (Rapp 600).
Much information has emerged demonstrating the widespread use of these substances in
professional sports and so it seems the next logical step for the media to take is to discuss
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methods for both banning the drugs and testing for them. Mandatory testing would have a
significant change on professional sports in terms of the ability of players to use these
substances. However, right now the testing is random and very infrequent (Rapp 600).
The issue is more complex than it seems, however. When addressing the debate over
mandatory testing, one must consider that some professional athletes test positive for substances
and claim no knowledge of having ingested it. It is possible, in some cases, that trainers are
responsible for providing the athlete with these substances without their knowledge. This raises
questions about how the industry could develop a reporting and testing system that aims to be
fair, while holding those involved responsible. For example, accountability must extend to all
those who have contact with the athlete and especially those who might have provided the athlete
with illegal substances, even if the athlete claims not to have knowledge of it (Rapp 616).
Failure to take an aggressive approach to this problem, including on the part of the media,
results in putting players who make a choice to stay clean and refrain from using substances at a
clear competitive disadvantage. If players are not frequently tested for illegal substances and
many athletes use these substances regularly, people who do not use them become inferior in
terms of strength and performance. The media never addresses this specifically. Instead, the
media lavishes praise on individuals who demonstrate significant size and strength in
professional sports, while pointing out that athletes who do not are disadvantaged. Even
American youth who desire to go on and play sports professionally as adults recognize that they
will need to find a way to compete with the ideal that has been projected for so many decades
(Rapp 606).
There is no real advocacy to address this problem. In fact, there is no coordinated
advocacy to address the social responsibility of both the media and professional sports players
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when it comes to their function as a role model. Perhaps professional players do not see they are
role models and do not readily accept this function, but this does not change that young people
and even older people look up to them. At some point, society has to decide if they want the
nation's children seeking to emulate people who abuse drugs, commit crimes, or engage in other
negative behaviors when the alternative is to demand truly inspirational role models in the form
of athletes.
Conclusion
The media is largely responsible for propelling the social ideal surrounding professional
athletes. Today's youth are under enormous pressure to become involved in athletics for many
reasons. First, there is a general belief that participation in sports from an early age increases the
chances a person will achieve success as an athlete later in life. While parents sometimes use
athletic scholarships to justify their children's involvement in sports, examination of the research
shows that parents pay large sums of money toward athletic interests that sometimes exceed the
cost of college. Further research is needed to determine the true impact of professional athletes
on youth, but preliminary examination stresses the importance of raising awareness among
children and teenagers when it comes to sports related issues such as substance abuse,
overspecialization, and the general failure to emphasize academic achievements that would
enable the person to go further in life if a career in sports does not pan out.
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