Athletes Role Models Quotes & Sayings

I don't believe professional athletes should be role models. I believe parents should be role models ... It's not like it was when I was growing up. My mom and my grandmother told me how it was going to be. If I didn't like it, they said, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out." Parents have to take better control. — Charles Barkley

I don't believe athletes should be role models ... We're a one-shot deal, one in a million, so we should be the least likely role models ... I think one of the problems in society today is that we don't stress education enough, because we glorify athletes, actors and actresses. — Charles Barkley

I had female role models to look up to starting in middle school, athletes like Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm who made me realize that there was room in the world of sports for women. They ignited my dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. — Jennie Finch

We understand that athletes aren't necessarily role models, but we at least expect them to abide by the basic laws of the state. — Tim Pawlenty

Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models. — Barack Obama

Athletes as role models and heroes is a hoax, a sick hoax. The men and women who are fighting in Iraq, they are the true heroes. — Gale Sayers

Whether we like it or not, we are high-profile athletes. We're role models. Kids come up to me all the time to talk and it makes me remember when I was a kid and I got to meet Jerry Rice and how much that meant to me. And how we've got to set a good example. — Jonathan Vilma

The American people don't believe politicians. They don't believe business leaders or Hollywood celebrities or athletes or other supposed role models. And they certainly don't believe the news media. — John Yarmuth

When I was growing up, there were very few women athletes. I remember watching Olga Corbett, but Peggy Fleming and Janet Lynn were my role models. I never dreamt that I could be at that level. I remember thinking they seemed so elegant and regal and powerful and feminine. — Dorothy Hamill

When I was a kid, my parents were very careful about who was "acceptable" as my heroes if you will, because they didn't want me being influenced by athletes who lacked morals. Cal Ripken and Dale Murphy were at the top of my mom's list of players she felt were good role models, so of course I was a diehard fan of both those guys. — Tucker Elliot

I don't really agree with the role model thing. People are always saying that athletes shouldn't do X or Y because they are role models. — Claudia Rankine

Unfortunately, we don't have all that many good examples to follow. The people that our cultures label as "successful" are the ones who have become wealthy or famous or celebrities, but the truly successful people
those who have become happy and who are living happy, loving, giving lives
aren't often featured in our newspapers or newscasts. We see the politicians and the criminals and the athletes and the entertainment "stars," but we don't see the people who can truly inspire us to be happy by being just who we are. — Tom Walsh

Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds. Athletes, in times of difficulty, can be important role models. — Bill Bradley

The only reason we make good role models is because you guys look up to athletes and we can influence you in positive ways. But the real role models should be your parents and teachers! — Dante Hall