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Why Athletes Are Not supposed to be treated like Royalty

The treatment of athletes like royalty started in the ancient Greece where different athletes like the gladiators and the athletes who participated in the Olympics were accorded with royal treatment (Godkhind, 2011). These days football players and other athletes are continually treated like royalty and they have very high salary packages, which they do not deserve. Once a football player or an athlete plays well in the field usually, he/she is given too much attention, which he/she has not worked for it. This could be very frustrating to other people who are trying to excel in other activities rather than sports. Additionally, the work that this athletes do in order to attain this treatment is not hard as compared to other people like doctors or scientist who take years before they are recognized by people in the whole world. Therefore, football players and athletes are accorded with unnecessary attention when they are treated like royalty and yet there are people who deserve this attention.

Sporting activities are hobbies and they are usually activities, which are used as a form of entertainment to both the player and the person who is watching them play. On the other hand, scientists and doctors are people who are contributing to making the world a better place for living. The doctors work hard trying to keep people alive, and yet they are not treated like royalty. For example, a high school athlete can be treated like royalty in a town but a simple doctor who has been practicing medicine in the same town and has saved many lives in that town is not recognized by anybody. The same doctor can even die without any recognition in the town or even get a good salary package for his excellent work, which he usually performs daily and at any time. On the other hand, the athlete who is probably sixteen years old, by the time he reaches the age of nineteen years old he would be a millionaire and a celebrity and yet he has not worked hard for this as compared to the doctor. Therefore, it can be argued that athletes do not work hard as the doctors do and other people in different careers and yet they are recognized more than the doctors are.

Most of these football players and other athletes are treated like royalties and yet they do not deserve it more than the others do because they are not very good role models to the younger generation (Godkhind, 2011). Most of these athletes do drugs; indulge themselves in prostitution, corruption and other things, which are bad. Most of the children try to emulate them and what they do but if they are emulating a person who does drugs, most likely the children will tend to drugs as they grow up. On the other hand, there are people as the soldiers who defend the country incase of any war and yet they are not recognized. Most of these soldiers are people who have families, they do not engage themselves in such activities like prostitution, and yet they are not recognized. These soldiers are the best role models for this children and their loyalty to defend their country should be a very good lesson to the kids unlike the athletes only have sports as their education. However, it is worth noting that not all athletes are bad but majority of them are bad.

Many athletes are treated like royalty and yet they have not even taken enough time to prove themselves to the people that they are worth the treatment. Many people like the Nobel price winners take many years before they are awarded the title. Mostly their ages range from fifty years and above. When we look at these athletes, they are usually accorded the status of a royalty even before they have attained the age of eighteen. They might argue that they have spent their lifetime, that is, from the time they were born until now, practicing the kind of sport they play. If we compare their argument with that of the Nobel price winners who also spend their lifetime in what they do, it can be noticed that the athletes do not spend a lot of time before they gain the treatment of royalties unlike the Nobel price winners especially those who fight for peace.

The nature of work these athletes perform is not fit to be accorded royal treatment as compared to most other jobs like the police officers who risk their life fighting criminals so that we could have safe and secure streets in our towns. Most of these athletes contribute to the entertainment seen. In conjunction to this, many other forms like moves, plays and many others can provide entertainment but crime can only be enforced through the police officers and women of the society. A good example is a police officer who saves a person from being killed or being attacked and in the course of this, he is usually at risk from being killed. Moreover, the police officer does do this once but he/she usually does severally throughout his/her life and yet he/she dies without even being accorded such treatment. On the other hand, the athletes only entertain people and themselves as they are playing these games and in the end, they are the ones who are given the royal treatment and not the police officer who saved a citizen from being killed or harmed. Therefore, it can be argued that the royal treatment that is usually accorded to these athletes is unfair to the other careers like the police officers.

In addition to all this, most of the athletes do not care about the well-being or emotions of the other, what they care mostly about are the royal treatment, which is money fame and glory. They only want to be rich and famous and be known all over the world. They do not care about the child who is looking up after them as their role model or the family that does not have a home to go to or food to eat, what they only think is about them on how they are going to boost their ego. However, the other professionals like doctors and the police officers care more about the society than themselves and their families. A doctor or a police officer can be called at any time of the day or night to come and perform his duties despite the fact that he might also be performing other personal duties, which are more important in his life. Instead of continuing with what they were doing, they decide to put the needs of others first before their own needs. Therefore, it can be argued that these athletes do not need this royal treatment as compared to the other careers, which do get this royal treatment.

Lastly, most of these athletes are very corrupt in one way or another. Most of them have used corruption or intimidation to be where they are today. Moreover, they use match fixing as another form of corruption especially in the NFL (Hill, 2009). This intimidation usually starts in high school where the parent of the athlete usually intimidates the coach or pays the coach to include the athlete in the field so that he can be included in the team and later be chosen by other big clubs. This is usually unfair because the other careers like doctors do not pay to be where they are but study hard to be where they are and yet they are never recognized. This doctors end up working harder than the athletes work and yet they might die even before they are accorded royal treatment as opposed to the athletes who have cheated all through their way to become who they are today. Therefore, we can continue to argue that the treatment royal treatment in which the athletes are accorded is not worth as compared to that doctor who went through his studies and yet he was is not recognized when he saves lives.

However, some of these athletes have rightfully earned this royal treatment. They have gone forward to set foundations, which help the needy, and the poor as way of giving back to the society. They have become very responsible members of the society and very good role models to the children and the society. For example, the Williams sisters who play long tennis have gone back to the society and tried to help the need. Serena has started a school somewhere in Kenya to help the needy children of that village to have an opportunity of accessing to education (Toronto Sun, 2011). Therefore, the royal treatment, which she usually gets from very many people, is worth. However, it is only a few of this athletes who go out of their way to help the needy on the society therefore, the royal treatment which is usually accorded to athletes is not worth it thus it should be directed to those who contribute to the society.

In addition, other athletes have really worked hard to become who they are today. They came from very poor families or from humble beginnings and worked hard to be where there are to day. The same example of the Williams can also be applied. The two sisters used to train themselves tirelessly every day since they were small children. There father trained them despite the fact that they liked it or not. Additionally, another player who worked very hard to be where he is despite the moral issues he has had lately is Tiger Woods. We cannot say that what he did is correct but he actually worked to be called as world number one. Therefore, the treatment accorded to these players is worth. On the other hand, most of the athletes come from very rich families or they take after their parents, that is, it runs through the family. Therefore, it can still be argued that these athletes do not require the royal treatment since not most of them have worked hard to be where they are.

In conclusion, I can say that the different athletes in the different fields should not be given this royal treatment because they have not worked hard to be where they are as compared to the other careers like doctors, Nobel price winners to be where they are today. Additionally, they should also not be given any treatment due to whatever they do as compared to other careers where they work on saving lives like the police officer and doctors. Moreover, these athletes should also not be role models to the children because of the behaviors they portray to the children like the use of drugs and prostitution. However, it is worth noting that not all athletes are bad, other athletes have worked hard to be where they are, and they are helping the society. Additionally, also other athletes are well behaved and are good role models to the children.

 

Works Cited

Godkhind, Shaunak. “Are Athletes Ideal Role Models?” CBS Sports. 3 March 2010. Web. 25 March 2011.

Hill, Declan. “How Gambling Corruptors Fix Football Matches”. European Sport Management Quarterly 9.4 (2009). 25 March 2011
< http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/16184740903332018 >

Toronto Sun. “Tennis Star Visit School in Kenya.” Toronto Sun. 25 March 2011. Web. 25 March 2011