Maybe Charles Barkley had it right all along.

It was over 20 years ago when the former NBA star, when asked how his actions on and off the court could influence young fans, said, “I am not a role model.”

I was a teenager at the time and thought Barkley’s comment was irresponsible. I now look at it as just the opposite. The hot-headed Barkley recognized that there were things he did and said that kids should not emmulate. In fact, he argued that professional athletes in general should not be looked at as role models.

In a perfect world, parents could rest assured that the pro players their sons and daughters look up to will always remain on a straight and narrow path. Then again, if we lived in a perfect world, we wouldn’t have to deal with people like Aaron Hernandez, the ex-NFL tight end charged with murder.

Then you have guys like Ryan Braun. No matter how many drugs an athlete puts into his body, it does not put him into the same class as Hernandez. As much as people may despise Braun and other ormer juicers, they may have been cheaters, but not murderers.

Still, I would be concerned if a 14-year old boy said that he looks up to an athlete who used steroids. The youngster may decide that drugs are his ticket to a college scholarship or a shot at the pros.

It’s a shame that the athletes who do the most wrong get the most attention. There are a lot of good guys in the sports world, but they seem to take a back seat to those who break the law.

Are athletes simply made from a dirtier mold these days? Absolutely not.

There have been bad apples all along, but their faults were not made public as they are today.

Not many baseball players of his era were loved as much as Mickey Mantle. The slugger hit over 500 home runs, won seven World Series in 18 seasons with the New York Yankees and did most of it with a charming smile on his face. The part of his life that kids were not familiar with was the drunken binges that caused him to play many games with a hangover.

Writers in the 1950s and 60s actually took it upon themselves to keep Mantle’s embarrassing moments off the radar as much as they could. Simply put, we live in a different time now. If a current athlete slips up, whether it be with alcohol, drugs, etc., it will make the news and that’s not going to change.

It’s very easy for young fans to get caught up in the drama of watching their favorite player win the game on a last-second shot or with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Parents should encourage their kids to embrace a player’s effort, that’s what enjoying sports is all about. But be weary of looking at pro athletes as role models. Outside the field of play, you often can’t count on them to have the best interests of their young fans in mind.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.