Not Role Models

Many years ago during his active playing career, Charles Barkley aptly declared that he was not a role model. In the wake first of doping scandals, then match fixing allegations, and now even alleged murder, it has never been more apparent that athletes are just as flawed as anyone else. A bicyclist who has battled cancer or a sprinter who ran without legs could have served as great inspiration but the personal demons they had to contend with overwhelmed the legends they had become.