When I think of celebrities, I generally think of a lot of people who have done at least one enormously stupid thing in their lifetime, something that is way different than “normal” or just constantly draw attention to themselves for every little thing they do.
From haircuts to baby names, the world wants to know every detail about celebrities’ lives.
Athletes, on the other hand, should be known for their talents, sportsmanship and just the way they play the game.
But I feel that, more and more in the last few years, the line between athlete and celebrity is becoming increasingly hard to define.
I think one of the prime examples of this right now is Tim Tebow.
Tebow did not become a well-known athlete for his skills, but rather for his beliefs.
On one hand, it is wonderful that Tebow is such an outspoken Christian and not at all ashamed of his faith. But this show of faith should not earn him respect as an athlete.
Although the hubbub about Tebow has greatly died down since last year, I still think that it is a shame that he is such a talked-about athlete when, really, his athletic prowess is really not that impressive.
Another athlete who earned himself a reputation is the now infamous Michael Vick.
Rather than recognizing Vick for his athletic abilities, most people now just think of dog fights when they think of Michael Vick.
Before the scandal, Vick was a very well-known player with a solid fan base. But now he has certainly made himself a celebrity more than an athlete. Despite his returning talent, Vick is often focused on as an infamous criminal rather than a football player.
Now maybe this is a ridiculous request, but I think that athletes need to make an attempt to take themselves out of the spotlight for anything other than athletics. Not only does it hurt their reputations, it also takes away from the sports.
In baseball, for example, many fans focus on specific athletes because of their use of steroids.
So much so that people have begun to assume that when a baseball player is very good, it’s only because he is cheating.
And that is only because so many other athletes really have cheated and do cheat.
So let’s focus on athletes for being athletes — not for the stupid things they say, the crazy ways they dress or the times they break the law.
