Off the field, athletes’ flaws are sometimes fatal

Charles Barkley is right.

Sadly.

Barkley, a former NBA star and current TNT basketball analyst, long has insisted athletes should not be viewed as role models.

Still, we cling to the idea, the hope, that these men who are capable of such amazing performances on the field are equally amazing off the field.

Yet off the field, they are just like the rest of us, imperfect and prone to bad decisions.

Steve McNair and Donté Stallworth are the latest, starkest reminders.

McNair played in the NFL 13 years and was as tough as any quarterback in league history.

He was respected by his teammates, appreciated by his coaches and admired by fans.

He led the Tennessee Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV, and came up inches short of forcing an overtime on the final drive of the game.

McNair's death Saturday in Nashville was shocking, made worse by the circumstances surrounding it. McNair was married with four sons, yet was in the midst of an affair with a 20-year-old woman.

His coaches and teammates want McNair, who was 36, to be remembered for the way he played and the work done through the Steve McNair Foundation.

If only that could be the case. It doesn't work that way.

McNair's poor judgment in his personal life tarnishes what he accomplished as a player and as a member of the communities of Nashville and Mississippi, his home state.

His bad decision left his sons fatherless. It left his wife, who earned a nursing degree in part so she could care for his football injuries, devastated.

Even though Stallworth is a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, his profile is lower than McNair's, who retired after the 2007 season.

Stallworth's poor judgment - he was driving with a blood-alcohol level of .126 - took another person's life. He struck and killed a pedestrian, Mario Reyes, a 59-year-old construction crane operator, around 7 a.m. on March 14.

Stallworth at least had the presence of mind to stop. He called the police and took responsibility for his actions.

That, plus the desire of Reyes' family to bring closure to the tragedy as quickly as possible - Stallworth reached a financial settlement with Reyes' family to avoid a civil suit - led to a surprisingly light sentence.

Stallworth received 30 days in jail, two years of house arrest and eight years of probation. He has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

Even if he is allowed to return to football, Stallworth always will wear the label of a careless athlete who thought he was immune to tragedy.

Part of the problem for professional athletes is the money they are paid. They earn it for the punishment their bodies take, the entertainment they provide and results they achieve for their teams.

But with wealth comes responsibility, and not all athletes are ready to accept that responsibility. Instead, wealth makes them feel invincible.

Barkley said parents should serve as role models, not athletes. He is correct again.

Too often, athletes are admired for images that have been crafted by marketing experts.

Athletes should be admired for their abilities on the field and willingness to lead and sacrifice for their teammates.

Admiring them for anything else is guesswork.

And evidence shows we often guess wrong.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or .