Should the Captain of the England squad be a positive role model?
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Over the last few weeks we have seen the media dissect John Terry's life due to his personal indiscretions. So much so, after bids for 'kiss and tells' , constant speculations and calls for his resignantion, Fabio Capello took his England captaincy away from him. But was this right, and more to the point how much of your personal life affects your ability to lead others?
In my opinion, the captain of the England team is supposed to be a positive role model to all those who follow the team. However in recent years football players have become less and less synonymous with role model status. But, if John Terry feels he can still lead his team effectively, does it matter what he may have got up to in his personal life.
In politics Bill Clinton famously was accused of similar indiscretions and yet he didn’t resign and continued to lead the United States. Does that mean it was unfair to fire John Terry?
For me, sports, entertainment, music and culture offer many people in the public eye who young people are surrounded by on a daily basis. Whilst their job description may not include ‘positive role model’ it is inevitable that they become one to many young people including those who don’t have many positive role models around them. It is therefore their duty to behave well, and the positive light in the media that so many expect them to be.
What do you think?
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Comments
I think you have made an important point here Nicola.
For me an interesting point is the behaviour of Ashley Cole - Also a Chelsea and England player. On the same week as the Terry 'indiscretions' emerged Cole was banned from driving after he was caught driving his car at 104mph in a 50mph zone. Unlike Terry, Cole's actions were actually illegal and could have resulted in the loss of life or serious injury. However this has somehow been overlooked or is viewed as less serious – perhaps because of the captaincy issue or maybe because of the nature of Terry’s indiscretions. It seems that our media is very quite to jump on a bandwagon and make victims of people. What John Terry has done is pretty sensational but its very hard for us to judge how that will effect his abilities at his job as a footballer.
Capello has now handed out the England captaincy to Rio Ferdinand - the man that once 'forgot' to turn up to a compulsory drug test and was banned from playing. His vice captain is Steven Gerrard - A man who narrowly avoided jail for Assault and Affray just a few months ago. Neither of these two represent particularly positive role models in their private lives, but what they do have in common with Terry is that they are absolutely brilliant leaders, incredibly professional athletes and exceptional good at what they do in their work lives.
We have to be careful how we judge people and what criteria we apply. With private lives increasingly becoming public we may have to rethink our perceptions.
The role of England football captain is extremely prestigious in this country and it is a position that millions of young boys and girls look up to from a very early age.
Historically, the armband has been held by players like Bobby Moore, Alf Ramsay, Alan Ball and Gary Lineker- all players who are regarded in the highest esteem for integrity on and off the field (Lineker was never booked in his career).
It is even fair to say that discretions were more forgiving back in the 50's, 60's and 70's because players were paid less, they were idolised to a lesser extent and they were seen as much 'closer' to the people (usually working class) who followed the game so closely.
Today, we have stars such as John Terry earning upwards of £100,000 a week on top of ludicrous sponsorhip deals and pay bonuses, in a career which may last a maximum 20 years for top players.
Given the exhorbitant rewards and media attention given to these players, it is my opinion that they have an absolute duty to behave responsibly, proportionate to the amount of money they are paid.
Millions of young people across the world hold professional footballers up as heroes, adourning bedroom walls everywhere. Their every action is under scrutiny and they simply cannot afford to slip up, whether it be in the bar, bedroom or on the pitch.
I believe Capello made the right decision and has made an example of John Terry. There is no doubting that he is an immense footballer but he isn't untouchable and hopefully this episode will be a lesson to other footballers who want to make it to the very top.
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