Role Models
For the last two weeks the columnists in the Chicago sports pages have been scraping the barrell to find fodder. The most recent victims of their scorn are Ozzie Guillen, Scott Podsednik and Tadahito Iguchi, three members of the 2005 World Champion White Sox. You see, the Sox are scheduled to visit the White House today to fulfill their part in the long tradition of giving the President a nice photo op, but Oz, Pods and Guch are missing the affair. Now, it is definitely an honor to be invited to the White House. And I have a tremendous amount of respect for the office of the President. However, I can also imagine there are as many reasons not to visit the White House as there are to go.
Some writers have speculated that Ozzie Guillen, originally from Venezuela but recently naturalized a U.S. citizen, is boycotting the visit to the White House at the behest of rogue Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Besides for the fact that many of these writers seem to be appealing to Hollywood to write a pilot for the sequal to X-Files, if this were the case, what is all the hullabaloo about? We constantly hear from sportswriters that they wish more of our athletes were role models for our youth. Heck, Michael Jordan heard for years that he was not political ENOUGH in the fight for equality for African-Americans. So now someone makes up a story that the outspoken manager of the White Sox MIGHT have a political motive for missing the teams trip to the White House (If that is the case, he is doing a very poor job making a political statement by remaining quiet about it).
Whether I agree or disagree with someone's political view is not important. What is important is that someone has a political view. Too many people in this country are apathetic about politics because they feel disconnected and powerless. If a high profile athlete wants to exploit his position to make a political statement (think Mexico City, 1968), terrific! That is really being a role model.
So the press wants a role model, but then wants to judge the manner in which a player or coach chooses to express his political beliefs. Your damned if you do and damned if you don't. But heck, this is not the first time the press could be accused of being duplicitous.
Some writers have speculated that Ozzie Guillen, originally from Venezuela but recently naturalized a U.S. citizen, is boycotting the visit to the White House at the behest of rogue Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Besides for the fact that many of these writers seem to be appealing to Hollywood to write a pilot for the sequal to X-Files, if this were the case, what is all the hullabaloo about? We constantly hear from sportswriters that they wish more of our athletes were role models for our youth. Heck, Michael Jordan heard for years that he was not political ENOUGH in the fight for equality for African-Americans. So now someone makes up a story that the outspoken manager of the White Sox MIGHT have a political motive for missing the teams trip to the White House (If that is the case, he is doing a very poor job making a political statement by remaining quiet about it).
Whether I agree or disagree with someone's political view is not important. What is important is that someone has a political view. Too many people in this country are apathetic about politics because they feel disconnected and powerless. If a high profile athlete wants to exploit his position to make a political statement (think Mexico City, 1968), terrific! That is really being a role model.
So the press wants a role model, but then wants to judge the manner in which a player or coach chooses to express his political beliefs. Your damned if you do and damned if you don't. But heck, this is not the first time the press could be accused of being duplicitous.
posted by Bearister at 6:23 AM
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