So I’m watching ESPN while trying not to barf on the treadmill this morning at the gym and I see something on the screen equally as nauseating!  There’s Kobe Bryant, raising hell, throwing things and shoving his own teammate on the bench, basically throwing a spoiled tantrum!

 It seems everytime I turn on the TV, there is a fight between athletes in the middle of a game or someone is having a spazz-attack because a call didn’t go their way…..and these are professionals???  I don’t know about you, but I see nothing entertaining at all in this type of behavior!  I love to watch sports, but the fighting should be reserved for boxing and the octagon!

Now, I know there is the age-old argument about pro athletes being role models and how it should be the parents at home that should be the role models and how athletes didn’t ask to be role models, blah, blah, blah…I agree, role models should be in the home and I also agree that pro athletes didn’t “ask” to be role models, but the fact is, they do influence kids who look up to them, like it or not!  Also, they are supposed to be “professionals”, so they should act like it!  I realize they are human, but have some self-control and save the tantrums for the locker room or somewhere else private, if possible! 

Trash talking, ribbing, “getting inside your competition’s head” is one thing, but to turn to violence and start throwing fists and all, not what I would suggest!   I can just see it now, “hey, look at little Johnny, he just got pushed down in the 6 and under soccer game and is now breaking a chair over the goalie’s head”…….oh man, not good!  Of course, I could see the parents going crazy, but I’ll save that for another posting…

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