I'm Not Your Kid's Role Model

The discussion today was why ANYONE would turn down $25 million dollars for playing one season's worth of baseball which Manny Ramirez did this week. To you and me, that's the kind of obscene money we'd do most anything for (like running a companmy into the ground).There was great mystery surrounding exorbitant payments for "entertainers" who, more often than not, make unsavory examples of exemplary human nature. I do believe it was Charles Barkley, but it could have been Ken Griffey, Jr. or almost any other high profile athlete who first denied the role model label. Fact is, they are stuck with it as soon as they strike the fame motherload.
As it is with Jessica Simpson and Michael Phelps these days. Simpson, whose major claim to fame seems to have been her, uh, physical charms, has gone from a size 2 to a size 8 lately, and the media has been howling and snapping photos with reckless abandon. People from all walks of life are flying to her defense and making cryptic comments about debasing a woman's stature, etc. Well, hey, she made a LOT of money by looking a certain way...think folks aren't going to notice and be a tad disappointed when she no longer looks that way, especially now that she might have to depend on actual talent to get by? Understand that for me, people who make a gajillion dollars using no discernible talent really don't rate very highly on my "role model" continuum, but the fact is that the public puts them there whether they want to be or not. So, Ms. Simpson can look forward to being on the cover of every tabloid known to man until she's again a size two...at which time all the tabloids will begin to wonder how she got so thin...bulimia? anorexia? Just ask Oprah how that fat/thin/fat/thin thing goes.
And then there's Phelps: argualbly one of the greatest athletes in the world...an American "hero" and sporting icon. Recent photos show his alleged marijuana use following this past Olympics. The public gasped audibly worldwide. Some rushed to his defense, saying that this was typical adolescent behavior (I mean, he's barely old enough to vote). His public act of contrition swayed some...until we were reminded that following the Olympics in 2004, he got busted for DUI...and promised never to embarrass himself like that again...ever. Feet of clay?
Gary Hall, a former Olympic swimmer, tested positive for reefer following the Olympics and was dropped by Speedo, his sponsoring company. Ironically, both Visa and Speedo are "standing behind" Michael Phelps after his latest brush with the law. Apparently, eight gold medals carries more weight than one might suspect. But, are young kids dropping out of swimming and smoking pot? Unknown. Are would-be starlets continuing to starve themselves or are they becoming "curvier" as a result of the Simpson publicity? Uncertain.
What is certain, however, is that public figures are public figures ALL the time, not just when the camera rolls...it's the price of fame in a YouTube age. You won't see me there.