This topic can open many opinions about people and how they behave, both privately and publicly. The few like points of interest to consider include their age as the main focal point. The other is the fact they are athletes. Not just athletes but athletes in a position they are held to a higher regard than your run of the mill ballplayer. When they achieve this level of notoriety, they are looked up to by younger aspiring athletes that feed off their every move. As adults, we want these "roll models" to be held to a higher standard so our own kids will hopefully follow the best examples possible. Just like the real world, it is a mix of good and bad. Some get the brass ring without earning it while others always seem to fall short. They are human. They are not going to be perfect in every respect. Some fall way short of expectations.
You will always have optimists out there sure they can make them a better person. Some times those same optimists will be coaches willing to overlook the past discrepancies and try and guide them in a better direction. Some have actually succeeded while some just can't be helped. Mainly because they are unable to help themselves. Change takes time. We never want others to be hurt whether it is physical pain or emotional trauma. Both have effects that can last a life time. As parents and mentors, I believe it is unrealistic to teach our young the world is a perfect place if you make good choices. Even on your best day, there is always a chance the next person you see is not sharing in your world of joy. We need to help strengthen our kids to strive for better while being understanding that some people don't have the same perspective on life. A good start to this is don't put yourself in situations that could potentially lead you to a dark side or a dark moment that could be misunderstood by others.
The young man that punched a girl, was it really a good choice to be where he was at 2:40am with others drinking? It doesn't matter if he were dead sober at the time. Look at the outcome from making a choice to be in that environment. Did he have the right? Sure! Was it a good choice? The young lady and the Fla. coach incident. Provoked or not, did everyone involved act in a manner they should have? In this case it was a public display of bad choices where emotions can run high without outside conflict. I think we can be more forgiving just because. Neither is right. Everyone has a threshold for pain different than others. Some times we cross a line because of poor judgement and humans snap. We don't always read when others have reached that limit.
As coaches and mentors I believe the next life lesson we need to teach our kids is diplomacy. Learn how to handle those out of control and minimize any pain or damage that could come from pursuing or wondering unknowingly down the wrong path. This won't always be accepted as the element of parental influence is a strong and well-laced result by example. As mentors, we need to display another side to human nature so the kids can see they have another choice. They don't have to be violent but if they come from a home life that has that kind of abusive presence those habits can be rooted deep into their soul.
People are animals. We are supposed to be at the top of the food chain. Why can't we be better? We can teach a monkey to dance yet we can't get a fellow man to understand the need to be understanding. The answer to this is in the statement "People are animals." Yes, we can teach a monkey to dance yet a lion will kill when it needs to feed. Some times an alligator will kill because it it annoyed by the presence of another splashing water. There are always answers but some times they come in hindsight. Dance with the monkey but quit before he's tired and give him a banana for his efforts. Stay out of the lion pen when visiting at the zoo. Don't go swimming in the Fla. Everglades.
See, good choices and diplomacy isn't so hard if you take time to think things thru even when the world is spinning out of control.
