Celebrity Role Models: Though Hard to Come By, They're Out There

If you haven't yet seen the footage of Miley Cyrus' performance at the VMAs then you probably haven't been near a TV or computer all day. The dreadful and horrendous performance that Cyrus and Robin Thicke put on last night is one that may just top Madonna and Britney Spears' kiss as well as Justin Timberlake's revealing of Janet Jackson's chest on stage. What happened last night left many people asking how Miley Cyrus could act in such a manner that would make those who grew up idolizing her as "Hannah Montana" wonder what they saw in her. Not only was credibility lost, but so was a little bit of faith in celebrities as a whole.

It has become that way in sports as well. This entire summer has been all about yet another performance-enhancing drug bust with Alex Rodriguez being the main perpetrator. The same A-Rod who was said to beat Hank Aaron's home run record the right way is now potentially, though not likely, facing a lifetime ban from the game.

Thinking back to being a kid that just ended my Little League career when the Mitchell Report was released and seeing my childhood idol Sammy Sosa be labeled a cheater was one of the more crushing blows I have dealt with while being a fan of baseball. It's never fun being lied to and it's never fun knowing that the excitement of someone's career was done with dishonesty and carelessness.

It is becoming tougher and tougher to find those celebrities that kids, teenagers, and adults can admire and hold on a pedestal. While not every singer prances around a stage with a foam finger between their legs and not every baseball player cheats, there comes a stereotype and collective skepticism whenever a situation such as these arise. Celebrities are constantly called in to question and must deal with more pressure in the public eye than most of them care to endure.

Yet there are people that handle themselves in a way that, like them or not, deserve respect and admiration. In the game of football Tim Tebow and Robert Griffin III have dealt with being in the spotlight nearly everyday this summer. With Tebow now a New England Patriot and RGIII recovering from a torn ACL, both have been egged on by reporters to say something negative or call someone out via interview. However, handling themselves with nothing but class, both athletes have turned away from these chances.

For Tebow coming off a frustrating stint with the New York Jets, reporters practically drooled over the chance to hear the goody two shoes Tebow speak his true thoughts on the Jets organization and head coach Rex Ryan. For RGIII, the questions early on were all about what he thought of head coach Mike Shanahan leaving him in late in the game when the Redskins appeared to have the game in the bag. Both deflected the negativity and failed to take advantage of the media's encouragement to speak ill of their head coaches.

The point is that even though our society has come to focus on the negative side of show business, there are those that represent the profession and sport in a way that we as fans and viewers can still admire and respect. While everyone is watching and waiting for the next athlete to slip up and make headlines on ESPN for weeks, there are athletes that we can be assured will never fill ESPN for negative reasons. Yes, role model-worthy athletes and celebrities are becoming hard to find, but they're most definitely not extinct.

Johnny Manziel Has Some Growing Up To Do

Johnny Manziel may be the biggest star in the history of college sports. That sounds crazy to say, but it might be true. Tim Tebow was pretty big during his time at Florida, but Johnny Football completely took over the college football universe during his Heisman Trophy-winning freshman season. Since delivering his acceptance speech he has done anything, but fade away from the national spotlight. He has basked in it and become the center of it -- and not always for the right reasons. Once again, Manziel finds himself in the middle of controversy this week and it begs the question: is Johnny Football's star too bright for the college ranks?

Manziel is a 20-year-old sophomore at Texas A&M and burst on to the national scene after a November 10th upset of No. 1 Alabama. Johnny Football carved up the Tide, completing 24 of 31 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 92 yards. The Aggies jumped on 'Bama early, leading 20-0 after the first quarter and then holding off a rally at the end, winning 29-24. The legend was born on the night and Manziel would go on to be the first freshman to hoist the Heisman in New York City.

After winning the award Manziel and the Aggies still had business to take care of against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. No problem. Manziel looked like he was on another planet, setting a Cotton Bowl record with 516 total yards and leading A&M to a 41-13 pounding over the Sooners. Manziel didn't just score four touchdowns (two in the air, two on the ground), he showboated his way to all four. With every score the taunting grew and this was a kid who couldn't be stopped.

He also can't be stopped off the field. It's a problem. After winning the Heisman, Manziel appeared at several NBA games courtside and in the locker room with stars like LeBron James and James Harden after the games. There may actually be nothing wrong with that, but it seems highly suspicious. Manziel can't accept any gifts or benefits so, in order to go to those games, his family would have to buy the tickets. That may have happened, but who knows. It's controversy that Texas A&M doesn't want or need.

He also has a June 2012 arrest on his record and has countless photos of his partying stacked up against him. He's a 20-year-old college student. I get that. 20-year-old college students go out and party. However, Manziel is not your typical 20-year-old college student. He's different and he needs to hold himself to a higher standard. That might mean cutting out the partying and avoiding controversy at all costs.

Avoiding controversy for Manziel is no small task though. Earlier this summer he caused a stir by tweeting, "Bulls--t like tonight is the reason why I can't wait to leave College Station... Whenever it may be." The tweet was deleted not long after it was sent, but sources later said it was influenced by a parking violation he received. This past week Manziel was back in the headlines after he left Manning Camp early. Several media outlets reported that he was hungover and had been partying, but the Manning family denied those reports saying he was ill and dehydrated. Manziel has since apologized to Texas A&M for his early departure and was reportedly upset that he had to leave. Again, maybe he really was sick, but it seems highly suspicious. And the only reason it seems suspicious is because Manziel has created his own reputation.

Life is going to change very soon for Johnny Manziel. He wants out of College Station and guess what -- that's potentially just a year away. Then he can go to the NFL, make millions of dollars and either be a star like he should be or fade into obscurity and continue being a clown. A year may seem like a long time, but it's really not when you have as much maturing to do as Manziel does. He's like the real-life Peter Pan -- The Boy Who Never Grew Up.

Let's not give the kid a pass and say, "Well he's just 20 years old. Of course he's not mature yet." How long are we going to make that excuse for him? For his sake when is someone going to sit him down and tell him exactly what he needs to hear? He's not a kid anymore and that's just the way it is. If he doesn't like the spotlight and attention then stop playing football, but as long as he is in the spotlight he needs to grow up and carry himself in a more positive manner.

One of the best parts about Manziel's football game is his ability to scramble out of trouble. It also seems to be a skill he has adapted to his life. Time and again, he scrambles out of trouble, but that isn't going to happen much longer. And when he can no longer scramble out of the mess he's made for himself it could cause him to lose millions of dollars and years of fame and then he will really find out how bright the spotlight can be. It's time to grow up Johnny.

Negative Judgement Surrounds Positive Athletes

After completing one of the most dominant college careers of all time and becoming the number one pick in the WNBA Draft, Brittney Griner came out and publicly stated that she was gay. Let the ESPN comment boards be filled with the biting words that so many have thrown Griner's way. This will not get into a moral issue nor will I type this post in a way that would offend anyone whether they are a member of the gay community or not. But with Griner's coming out, she has received even more criticism than ever before and for what? For having a different view on relationships? For not living up to someone's standards when it comes to physical appearance? For not having a soft-spoken voice? What this whole career has proven is that Americans cannot accept excellence without a little negativity. Very few people have sat back and enjoyed the ride that Griner took the Baylor Lady Bears on these past few years, rather they have filled ESPN message boards with offensive comments about her body, her voice, or anything else you could think of. But since when has looks or someone's voice made a difference in their game? The biggest question in my mind when people begin talking about Griner and her supposed imperfections is, quite simply, so what?

Griner enjoyed historic success at Baylor

I'm not going to act as if I have never made an ill-advised comment about Brittney Griner because I have. Yet as I sit back and think about all that she has done, and all that she has accomplished, it makes me wonder why I focused more on her appearance instead of the history she was making. That's what brought me to realize that we simply don't accept an athlete that is doing everything right. We can't just appreciate an athlete without placing a negative label on them.

Obviously the biggest victim would have to be Brittney Griner as of right now. But what about Tim Tebow two seasons ago? About as perfect a role model as a parent would want their kid to have, Tebow emulates exactly what a professional should be: a hard-working, clean-mouthed, well-spoken leader. Sure he's unorthodox, sure he's not a top quarterback in the league, and sure "Tebow Time" seemed too good to be true, but few people really cheered for Tim Tebow in that incredible late-season run. Instead of cheering for a kid who had done everything right, the media and fans of opposing teams focused on his faith, on his sideline prayers, and on his unorthodox throwing motion. Trying to pass them off as attempts at getting attention or being overbearing, Tebow was put under a spotlight simply for his faith in God.

Again, the question comes to mind: So what? Why should it matter what his views on Christianity are? There's nothing wrong with having a relationship with God, and each individual has their own view and opinion but at the same time should respect the views and opinions of others. The same with the situation Brittney Griner is in. Why can't we just enjoy those athletes that give us every reason to cheer for them? Tim Tebow led a few great Florida football teams to glory as well as being a Heisman finalist three years in a row. Brittney Griner broke college records in multiple catagories on her way to becoming a three-time All-American. Neither athlete has made headlines for being in trouble with the law or really done anything negative that has caught the public eye. Does anyone care that they have been a positive influence in their sports?

"Tebowing" was thought of as attention-seeking

It comes back to the fact that so many athletes are contaminated with steroids, sexual assaults, drug abuse, DUIs, along with everything else. The thing is, it's hard to find a "clean" athlete in today's world which is why we feel skeptical when one comes along. We have such a negative outlook on our athletes because we're tired of being let down by the Mark McGwire's and Sammy Sosa's of the world. We're afraid to love an athlete because eventually it seems that every athlete gets into trouble, so we try to find these little imperfections and try to convince ourselves that a certain athlete isn't as great as they seem. It's about time we stopped trying to belittle the clean athletes of the world and just enjoy the ride they take us as sports fans on. Brittney Griner is gay and Tim Tebow is a Christian. So what?

Tim Tebow Just Wins

Go ahead and say what you want about Tim Tebow. He has a terrible throwing motion, only completes a handful of passes per game, and has a quarterback rating that looks like a good college student's GPA. However, is best at what matters the most and that's winning. Tim Tebow just wins. After the Thursday night defeat of the New York Jets he is now 4-1 and the Denver Broncos are 5-5 and second in the AFC West. It's already impressive that Tebow is winning these games but what makes it all the more heroic is that he is doing it under the most intense scrutiny.

There has never been a backup player in any sport who attracted so much media attention and there has also never been a backup more criticized than Tebow. There are plenty of scrubs running around on NFL Sundays such as Rex Grossman, John Beck and Curtis Painter and none of them are dissected or ripped apart by Merrill Hoge on ESPN. Why Tebow? What makes him different? For some reason we just care about this guy more. He is intriguing on the field because he does things so much differently than a "real quarterback" does. Off the field he is open about his faith and that sets him apart from so many others in the league. Whatever the reason, analysts everywhere have shared their doubts about why Tim Tebow will never be a good quarterback and, despite all that, he keeps on winning games which is all that matters.

There can't be more exciting fourth quarter player in the NFL. He's the kind of guy that always seems to find a way. He might be the worst quarterback for three quarters-plus but, as the Jets found out, he can be the greatest quarterback in the final few minutes with the game on the line. Last night the first 11 drives for the Broncos resulted in just 134 yards of offense and the previous eight possessions ended in punts but on the final drive Tebow rallied his troops, leading the team to a 95 yard game-winning drive. Tebow accounted for 92 of those yards, 35 through the air and 57 with his legs. He took the game into his own hands and calmly led his team down the field against a defense that had pounded him the entire game to that point. The win was his third comeback win this season and after he said, "I love winning but I wish it wasn't this stressful." Well Tim, I don't have a problem with it, considering it's some of the best entertainment in the NFL.

I know that he may never shut up all the idiots like Merrill Hoge but Hoge has to feel like an absolute moron every week when the Broncos win. He LOVES ripping apart Tim Tebow on national television and week after week Tebow pulls out a win. So go ahead and keep ragging on him but the guy is a winner. Tony Romo and Mark Sanchez may have better mechanics and what not but Tebow has already shown he can win games consistently, something those two struggle with at times. To win under the kind of scrutiny he is under is remarkable. But that's what he does. He makes those around feel the passion he has and he inspires his teammates better than most. Does he make them better players? I don't know about that, but he does make them want to be there. His passion rubs off on others and the Broncos now have something special in Denver.

Time will tell if Tebow can keep this up for the entire season or for an entire career. Maybe he can lead the Broncos to the playoffs and if he wins there his legend will only grow larger. It would be nice to see him keep winning and maybe, just maybe, shut the critics up. That may never happen. One thing is for sure though, Tim Tebow will always be fun to watch