The Decline of the Sports Hero in America
Fallen Idols
By Scott Robertson

Eddie Murray has made a great living by being an expert around the bat rack.

He's not likely to be found in the Bat Cave.

Murray, who built a Hall of Fame career lashing 3,255 hits and 504 home runs during 21 years in the majors, now is the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. What he is not, he said, is an icon that fans should admire.

"I'm no hero," Murray said on a recent Dodgers' trip to Pittsburgh. "I got no cape."

Murray, though, was a hero to many during his playing career. His quote is reminiscent of the one uttered by NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, who achieved great note several years ago when he said he was not a role model, noting that kids should look up to their parents, their teachers or others who could have a more direct personal impact on their lives than athletes could.

The position of hero or role model is one many athletes have earned, but one that in recent years has taken hits from all sides. Athletes in all sports still find themselves cast in the role of hero, especially to children and younger fans. But increasing invasion into their private lives via the media, the Internet and other sources of information has served to strip away that veneer.

Scandals such as performance-enhancing drugs, gambling, sexual misconduct and numerous brushes with the law have been present in sports almost since the games began being played. But as 24-hour sports networks, sports talk radio, Internet chat rooms and web sites and a seemingly more aggressive media have developed, incidents that in the past may have been unknown to most-or covered up by teams-have become almost routine stories, shining an unfavorable light in the direction of athletes involved.

THROUGH GENERATIONS

A Pittsburgh area family can provide a solid case study in the way things have changed during the past six decades.

Ed Hank Sr., 72, of Speers, grew up in the '40s listening to Notre Dame and Army football on the radio. His heroes were the Fighting Irish quarterbacks of the day and the legendary Army backfield of Glen Davis and Doc Blanchard.

His son, Paul, 45, grew up in the '60s and '70s, idolizing young Steelers' quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Paul's son, Aaron, 10, was a huge fan of former Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa - until Sosa became linked to steroids. The younger Hank since has switched his allegiance to Pirates' shortstop Jack Wilson.

"I like (Wilson) because he plays for the Pirates," said Aaron, who got Wilson's autograph on a jersey during spring training. "He's a good all-around player. He tries hard all the time."

Aaron has no such affection for Sosa or for Giants' slugger Barry Bonds.

"I don't like (Bonds) at all," he said. "I think he used steroids. I think he ruined the game."

Aaron's grandfather had a different view of his heroes as a youth.

"You have to remember," he said, "that all we had was radio back then. You had to use your imagination. We couldn't really see what these guys were doing, and you didn't know anything about them except what happened in the game and what you heard. Blanchard and Davis were in the Army. They were real heroes to kids growing up. We wanted to be like them.

"I think kids still want to be like their heroes. It just seems like with all you hear about these guys these days, there aren't that many guys who live up to being heroes."

Paul Hank says the information age has taken some of the shine off athletes as heroes or role models. His admiration for Bradshaw grew at a time when the Steelers were becoming a dominant team, yet before the days of 24-hour sports talk.

For example, in the early '70s, Steelers defensive lineman Ernie Holmes was arrested for shooting at a police helicopter. While the incident received considerably media play in the newspapers and television reports at that time, if the same thing happened today it would be discussed daily, probably for months.

"Bradshaw was always the guy I looked up to when I was 13 or 14," he said. "I just liked the way he played. He had that strong arm and they started to win. That made him a hero to me.

"I just look at my son and I see how that is changing, though. Sosa was his man, but then you had the steroid issue come up. Now he's off Sosa and Jack Wilson is his guy. I think kids are looking for players who are clean. But the power of TV is showing kids there aren't that many clean guys out there. It seems like when (the media) want to, they can find something negative about anybody."

WHEN HEROES GO BAD

Frank Jans, director of psychiatry at Pittsburgh's Allegheny General Hospital, doubles as president of Shaler Area's Braun Jeffery Athletic Association and has coached his kids in youth sports. He says kids, and some adults, idolize athletes as much now as they ever have.

"I think people absolutely still idolize athletes as heroes," Jans said. "What you usually see happen with kids, especially, is that they will find another hero if their hero runs into trouble. They look up to their heroes because of the things they do well."

But when the heroes go bad?

"Well, my son was a big Barry Bonds fan," Jans said. "He had his posters and pictures all over the walls. About a year-and-a-half ago, those things came down and he replaced them with photos of Jack Wilson, Craig Wilson and Jason Bay. He shifted. That's what kids do. They want their heroes to do great things, not bad things."

Hero worship, though, can sometimes go too far. That's where parents have to step in.

"I think one of the things you have to do is look at what these guys do in the community," Jans said. "Jack Wilson donated a lot of money to a school where he spoke not too long ago and Craig Wilson is very active and involved with several programs at the hospital here. You look at what these guys do in the community and what they do on the field, and you compare that with a guy who is chasing 755 home runs or whatever and does not have that same kind of reputation. There are certain qualities among these guys as athletes that we, as parents, want to encourage our kids to emulate. I think parents must help maintain the balance for our children."

Many athletes embrace the chance to be role models, while others reject the notion that they should be put in such positions. Guys like Jack Wilson, Pirates' pitcher Zach Duke and Penguins' young stars Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury say they learned a lot from their role models and enjoy the chance to full the same role for kids and fans today.

Wilson is one who believes athletes should serve as role models, but is wary of the kinds of intrusions that can be made. His hero as a youth was Kurt Stillwell, a former major league infielder who attended the same high school.

"I think it's important to do that, but that's how my personality is," Wilson said. "I like to talk with the fans and sign autographs, and if that helps a kid look up to me a little bit, I think that's great. "

CONSTANT ATTENTION

Wilson has noticed, though, that people seem to be less-inclined to peg athletes as role models these days. He said the struggles baseball is battling against performance-enhancing drugs seem to have caused fans to approach players with a little different attitude.

"I think you definitely saw more of (fans admiring athletes) in the '90s than you do now," he said. "I think the 'roids thing has something to do with that. There was less attention paid to athletes, even in the '90s, than there is now.

"I don't mind being a role model and having the attention. I think that's part of the job and it's in my personality to be friendly with people anyway. As long as (the attention) is on me and my family is not drawn into it, that's OK with me. People around here are pretty good, though. I think they appreciate when you take time with them."

Fleury, at 21, is not that far removed from worshipping his heroes, which include former NHL star goaltender Patrick Roy and New Jersey Devils' standout goalie Martin Brodeur. While he enjoys being a role model for kids, the Penguins' goaltender says he is not quite as comfortable being a hero to many adults.

"It's kind of weird for me," he said. "I don't think they should be looking at me that way. I don't think they should look at me the way I looked at (Roy and Brodeur). I haven't been around very long yet. I'm kind of new here. I don't think they should think of me that way."

Duke grew up idolizing the likes of Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Like Fleury, he is a younger star in the making and is just getting used to being viewed as a role model.

"I'm comfortable with that," Duke said. "I don't mind it. I think it's something important to do, especially for kids. There is a little bit of a downside because nowadays, people can find out just about anything they want to about you. But people around here have been great. I really have enjoyed being in that (role model) situation."

Crosby has perhaps experienced as much hero worship as any Pittsburgh athlete. At age 18, he is one of the National Hockey League's wunderkinds, a cornerstone not only for his franchise, but the entire league. By age 10, when he was admiring the likes of NHL greats Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman, many fans already were admiring him, knowing early on he was well on his way to NHL stardom.

"It means a lot to me to be a role model," Crosby said. "Being a pretty young guy, I think I have a connection to a lot of people - both older and younger, I guess. Sometimes it's amazing to me that people look to me that way, but I think it's a good thing. I think it makes me work harder and it really keeps me honest."

Crosby is concerned however, that media, and some fans, can at times be too invasive. He said he is more than willing to be accessible to fans, but notes that there are times when the burden can become heavy.

"I think you see more things out there now because there is so much information available about athletes," he said. "There are so many ways to find things out about people - and let's face it, if someone wants to find something bad about you, they're going to find it.

"I think most of the time people are looking for good things, though. I know when I was younger I admired Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman. I just liked the way (Yzerman) did things. I liked that he was the team captain and everyone seemed to look up to him.

"Most people still approach athletes that way, I think. People are looking for good things. They want to like the players and wear their jerseys. I think it's important for me to work hard and give them someone to look up to."