William Rhoden - Muhammad Ali and the Athlete as Role Model

Описание: Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/03/25/Athletes_as...

New York Times sports columnist William Rhoden gives his take on professional athletes as cultural role models, using Muhammad Ali as an example.

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Athletes as Role Models in the Steroids Era

The Mitchell report revelations of baseball's "steroids era" led to outrage and dismay. Now the government is involved, with Roger Clemens testifying before Congress. But that's not all - 2007 turned out to be a year of scandal in sports: Michael Vick's dogfighting, Bill Belichick's "spy-gate" and Isiah Thomas' sexual harassment trial, to name a few. In light of all this, many have criticized professional athletes for unacceptable behavior. But are athletes held to a higher standard? Should they be judged as role models? At a time when the sports pages seem to contain more social commentary than game breakdowns, the NY Salon has assembled a panel of experts to discuss what this all means for both the sports world and our society at large - NY Salon

William C. Rhoden has been writing about sports for The New York Times since March 1983. Previously, he was a copy editor in the Sunday Week in Review section since October 1981 when he joined the newspaper. Author of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete.