European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 22, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday july 22, 1993 sports the stars and stripes Page 27 u can t by Alan Greenberg one of the first things Drew Bledsoe told us when he signed with the patriots last week was that he wants to be a role Model. In interviews and a highly publicized Nike and Charles Barkley says he Doest. Guess what it does t matter whether they do or they Don t. You Don t choose to be a role Model. Peo ple choose you. Still it s Nice that Bledsoe volunteered. He seems to be a Bright Earnest Well intentioned Young said his goal was to be changed As Little As Possi ble by the $14.5 million six year contract he signed last week. Admirable. In appreciation of his unique position he said he was going to do a lot for various charities. Admirable. What was t so admirable was the Way patriots owner Lames b. Orthwein used the eager to please Bledsoe to shill for the Boston Mega Lex Orthwen is so hot to have built. Bledsoe read excerpts from a statement prepared by the patriots As if they were his own words then was careless enough to leave the paper behind on the table. After beginning with an anecdote in which he claimed to overhear two patriots fans talking about How the team has t done one thing wrong since Orthwein became owner Bledsoe added also i d like to mention that i d be extremely excited to play in the Ity of Boston. The year i be heard is 1998 that we can move into the new Mega Lex. That would be an exciting exciting somehow it s hard to imagine words like that com ing out of Barkley s Mouth. Media and fans love Barkley but he has a reputation for being a Loose Cannon. You never know who what or when Charles will blast and that makes some people especially his employers uncomfortable. Can you imagine what would have happened if at commentary his welcoming press conference in Phoenix one year ago a suns executive had handed Barkley a scripted list of Nice things to say about the franchise Barkley would have made him eat the paper. But Bledsoe the son of schoolteachers a 21-year old who respects his parents in particular and adults in general went along with the game plan. In t that what football players Are taught to do the Point Here is not to com pare Barkley and Bledsoe. They Are at extremes. Barkley is a 30 year old Man with superstar status who can and does say almost anything he wants. Bled Soe is a kid whose pro career has t even started yet. The Point is that the ongoing Public debate of who should. And should t be a role Model has gotten a bit tiresome and. Off the track. It misses the essential Point of what s potentially harmful about hav ing athletes As role models. After Bledsoe began the press conference by announcing his intention to be a role Model his agent Leigh Steinberg chimed in. Noting that Barkley s Nike and says that parents should be a child s role models Steinberg said that s where Charles Barkley has a Point you can t. Take the place of parents. But a lot of children Don t come from nuclear families. It s a Little bit let them eat cake for Barkley to say super agent Steinberg who has represented four of the past five players drafted by the nil is big on this role Model stuff. He leans on the athletes he represents to give something tangible Back to their role models communities in the Way of scholarship funds or other Good works. That s admirable. But you can t legislate role models any More than you can legislate morality. In this space Over the years we have preached that you should Trust the Art not the artist. Meaning that just because someone can Dunk a basketball throw a touchdown pass or for that matter write a great novel does t mean that their lives Are Worth emulating. Steinberg s Point and it s a Good one is that in an Era when so Many kids grow up without two caring Loving parents to nurture them it s natural for them to look outside the Home for someone to look up to. To Steinberg s Way of thinking an and such As bark Leys in which Charles begs off being a role Model i passing the Buck. Bledsoe is it is there really anything wrong with an athlete coming out and saying he does t want to be your role Model but is anyone out there listening sure kids who want to be like Mike might Wear Only air Jordans. But does that mean they la be inclined to take up gambling of course not. No the real problem with having athletes As role models in t that athletes Are imperfect people who Lead imperfect lives. A of us do that. The real problem is that there Are thousands of kids out there who grow up believing that their chances of a lucrative pro career Are Good who be Lieve that doing Well in school in t Cool. For those kids the True letdown in t when their hero gets arrested for drug or alcohol abuse it s when the kid finds out that making a living As a pro athlete is a fantasy land that he will never be invited to enter. And he in t prepared to do anything else. The Hertford Cournal at last 6-8 Mcgwire is ready to stand tall in Seattle Saddle Nyji scour Kirkland Wash. A finally Dan Mcgwire of the Seattle sea Hawks is ready to provide some answers. I know people have a lot of questions about me and that s Fine he said because i Haven t done anything for two at 6 feet 8 inches Mcgwire is the tall est quarterback in nil history. However in two seasons with the sea Hawks the club s 1991 first round draft Choice has a Short resume. He s started two games played in one other and has t thrown a touchdown pass. Mcgwire has a magnificent Arm. He can fire a football 70 Yards Down the Field. But there Are questions about his mobility. A broken left hip socket Cost him almost the entire 1992 season. The $1 million question can he move around in the pocket quickly enough to avoid the Rush and another major injury that s $1 million As in the $1 million Sal Ary he will get from the sea Hawks this sea son in the final year of a three year con tract. Mcgwire says he can play in the nil and he s going to prove it this year. He says he s driven to succeed. At 25, he knows if he does t have Success this season that his future with the sea Hawks and in pro football could be in jeopardy. I m very confident with what i m doing out Here he said. I understand the of sense now. It s a Good situation for me. There s no question in my mind that i can play in this league. I know i can play. It s just a matter of getting out there and play ing.". By virtue of his experience Mcgwire came to training Camp As Seattle s starting quarterback with the team s release of Kelly Stouffer. Stouffer beat Mcgwire out for Seattle s no. 1 Job in last year s train ing Camp after Mcgwire had a poor pre season showing. The sea Hawks used the second pick in april s draft to select Rick Mirer a quarterback from notre Dame and Mirer will compete with Mcgwire to be coach Tom Flores starter. Mirer is unsigned however. Mcgwire did t take the drafting of Mirer personally. He did t think the sea Hawks were going to re sign Stouffer and he knew they were looking to either sign a free agent quarterback or draft one. Be sides he s taken a liking to Mirer in the Short time they be known each other. I be been in Competition since High school he said with a shrug. Mcgwire took boxing lessons in the of season in an Effort to improve his quickness. He also shed. 10 pounds from last season and now weighs 240. Tom would rather see me at 240 and see what i can do at 240," Mcgwire said. It might make me a Little bit quicker than last year. I think it la help out a the 16th pick in the 1991 draft from san Diego state thought his career might be Over when he was sacked by cowboys linebacker Robert Jones last oct. 11 in Dallas. His left hip socket was fractured. Doctors told him he might have a to Jackson Type hip injury. Jackson s career with the los Angeles raiders ended with a tackle that resulted in him being Given an artificial hip. Fortunately for Mcgwire his hip healed perfectly. It was an arduous time though. I was basically bedridden for 12 months he said. I had to stay off my hip. It was hard and very quarterback Dan Mcgwire. Has Short resume the sea Hawks were a franchise worst 2-14 last year because they could t score enough Points. Mcgwire says things will different this season. If we re More productive on offence than last year which we will be i think the season will be a total turnaround from last year he said. Ring of Honor finally makes sense to Landry Irving Texas a in was an unexpected sight former adversaries Jerry Jones and Tom Landry seated Side by Side in the stadium both have dominated. Landry came Back to Texas stadium on tuesday to say he is ready to accept the Dallas cowboys greatest Honor even if it was coming from the Man who fired him in 1989. Both men smiled As Landry finally accepted Jones longstanding offer to join the team s ring of Honor. Landry said it was a Busy schedule and not any harsh feelings toward Jones that kept him out of the ring and away from Texas stadium until tuesday. Landry Jones and coach Jimmy John son played together at a recent Golf tournament and the ring of Honor was brought up again. This time Landry was ready to consider the invitation. Yes he d do it. He d let them put his name along the stadium s Walls Between the upper and lower decks next to seven of the greats that he coached Bob Lilly Don Meredith Don Perkins Chuck Howley Mel Ren fro Roger staubach and Lee Roy Jordan. I should go in because the fans Are what made us what we Are and the play ers up there in the ring of Honor Are the ones that put me there Landry said i think it makes sense to me now to say i m going to go into that ring of
