I’ve been thinking a lot this week about Charles Barkley’s “I am not a role model” commercial that aired in 1993. In it, he says:
“I am not a role model.
I am not paid to be a role model.
I am paid to wreak havoc on a basketball court.
Parents should be role models.
Just because I dunk a basketball, doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”
In theory, there is nothing wrong with what Barkley said. When an athlete signs a contract, whether it is a veteran’s minimum or a mammoth, 4-year $153 million franchise-changer, he or she earns that deal through their performance on the court (or field, or ice).