Should Athletes Be Held To High Moral Standards?

SHOULD ATHLETES BE HELD TO HIGH MORAL STANDARDS?
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Should Athletes Be Held To High Moral Standards?
Whether it happens by choice or not, certain professions are generally held to higher standards and therefore experience higher scrutiny compared to others. For example, politicians, surgeons, lawyers, doctors among others, are held to higher standards than landscapers or house painters. One such profession that has been a subject of debate is that of the professional athletes. Following many scandals that have and continue to take place among athletes, many people wonder whether or not it is appropriate for athletes to be held to higher moral standards than individuals in other careers. The background of such debates arises from these scandals. Some include; Wilt Chamberlain’s sexual escapades allegations, Ray Lewis’ criminal past as well as the issue about several children out of wedlock, and doping practices of some baseball players like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. Also, reputations of individuals such as Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods who have been accused of doping and extramarital affairs respectively and countless other scandals in the athletes’ profession. In the current era, athletes are becoming increasingly scrutinized by the media. Due to their high salaries, abilities, and platforms that they have to express opinions, athletes have automatically become role models. According to (Carr 2011), proponents of this notion, believe that athletes have some moral obligations to the society and they should, therefore, behave more ethically compared to other people who may not be in the spotlight. Even though it is logical for athletes to fulfill certain obligations, for example, obeying rules and demonstrating sportsmanship, it is an entirely different notion to believe that they ought to be held to higher moral standards socially. Having moral standards is not in the athletes’ job description but should be an individual decision. Accordingly, the understudy opposes the idea of athletes being held to higher moral standards and addresses arguments against this notion. It is unfair and unreasonable to judge athletes since they are ordinary people just like us.
Professional athletes can be thought of as entertainers who are hired due to their talent as well as their ability to draw crowds to attend sporting events. With this amount of pressure on the athletes, they are bound to engage in some harmful habits such as doping since it enhances one’s ability to be “perfect.” Athletes should start being judged on an individual basis based on their personal integrity and their consistency depending on how they have behaved in the past. Some of these doping scandals are brought about by the pressure their career and we as the society place on them in the first place, and this makes it unfair to expect them to act in particular way when they experience weakness and temptation just like the rest of us.
Another problem with this idea of holding athletes to higher moral standards is linking their personal lives. If athletes were to be considered role models and judged only based on their career achievements and performance, then that would be...