Looking up to athletes helps youth thrive, report says

By Jeff Eisenberg
Daily Bruin Contributor

Parents across the nation collectively cringed on Sunday as they
heard the news.

Despite his tattooed appearance, homophobic rap lyrics, and
multiple brushes with the law, reigning NBA MVP Allen Iverson
eclipsed even Michael Jordan as the world’s most popular
athlete among the youthful readers of Sports Illustrated for
Kids.

This may appear alarming, but according to a recent UCLA School
of Public Health report, it is actually healthy for teens to
identify sports stars as their primary role models.

Published in the January edition of Archives of Pediatrics &
Adolescent Medicine, the study offers the first scientific
demonstration that athletes introduced through the media have made
a positive impact on the lives of their adolescent admirers.

“Despite the attention to the negative, most athletes are
disciplined and hard working,” said Dr. Antronette K. Yancey,
lead author of the report and community health sciences professor
at the school of public health.

“(Their influence) can certainly help in raising a young
person’s self-esteem.”

Of the 749 Los Angeles teens studied, the 56 percent who
identified having a role model were more likely to earn better
grades, and demonstrated lower levels of substance abuse. The 73
who specified sports figures as their chief influences displayed
the same tendency toward healthy behavior as those who named family
members or teachers.

This comes as no surprise to Bruin guard Billy Knight, an
advocate of the idea that all people have the potential to impact
the lives of teenagers if given the opportunity.

“Every single person is a role model to somebody,”
said Knight, who grew up idolizing his father as well as basketball
star Magic Johnson and singer Michael Jackson.

“Athletes are just on television (so) more people look at
them. If a regular person was on television, they would be a role
model too.”

Clay Brewer, executive vice president and chief operating
officer for Big Brothers Big Sisters Association, agreed with
Knight’s assessment of the power of media figures.

“I don’t find it hard to believe that any adult can
influence a teen in a positive way,” he said. “When (a
teen) sees a successful person, they know what is possible for
themselves. The image of an athlete compounded with everyone else
who is relating to (the teen) directly gives a basis for
self-confidence.”

A long time BBBSA executive, Brewer believes that the mounting
dependency on media figures as role models stems from the
deterioration of the family structure.

“There are a majority of kids who at one time will live
with just one parent,” Brewer said. “A role model
allows teens to gain confidence academically and express
themselves. They are less likely to turn to drugs and
alcohol.”

Brewer’s opinion correlates with the results of the study.
Less affluent teens raised in destitute environments were more
likely to identify athletes and other media figures as role models,
while those adolescents raised in wealthy families had a greater
chance of identifying someone with whom they had direct
contact.

“Socially we just are living in a transition period where
we don’t have the same support structures,” said
Yancey. “It is a comment on parenting, on neighborhood
structure, and on family structure overall.”

In light of the limited availability of mentors for every
at-risk teen, Yancey feels that it’s important that athletes
and other media figures take advantage of their opportunity to make
an impact, whether via the media or in person. She believes that
it’s the responsibility of the different leagues to educate
professional athletes about their duties in the community as role
models.

“I absolutely think there are things they can do,”
said Yancey, a former basketball player at Northwestern University.
“(Athletes) can focus on one particular message, and
reinforce the notion that few of us succeed on our own.”

Knight prefers to lead by example, and he and his teammates take
their role in the Los Angeles community very seriously. In the
past, the squad has volunteered at homeless shelters and fulfilled
the holiday wishes of patients at the City of Hope Cancer
Center.

Despite his reputation as somewhat of a thug in the media,
Iverson is also trying to make up for his past mistakes and live up
to his responsibility in the community. He founded the Allen
Iverson Celebrity Summer Classic Foundation, a charity organization
that raises money to help keep inner-city kids off the streets.

“Positive messages can make a difference,” Yancey
said. “There are literally thousands of young people who can
be affected.”