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.

Shanahan's Error in Judgement Costs 'Skins

It was an agonizing three quarters of football watching Robert Griffin III hobble around on a bad knee in the Washington Redskins' defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. The rookie quarterback quite possibly could be the Rookie of the Year in a few weeks, but he could whip up no heroics on Wild Card weekend and his injury led to the Redskins' demise.

Griffin injured his knee earlier in the year, but continued to play while wearing a brace on his right knee. That right knee is the same knee in which he tore his ACL back in 2009 while at Baylor and the early inclinations are that he may have torn it again. It's devastating news and leaves 'Skins fans with a bitter taste in their mouth despite feeling so hopeful just 24 hours ago.

RGIII came out hot last night, leading Washington to two straight scores and opening up a 14-0 lead. However, it went south from there and it was plain to see Griffin's pain as he scrambled right, stepped awkwardly and fell to the sloppy turf late in the first quarter. He limped back to the huddle and remained in the game, but he was never the same.

Consider this: in the first quarter Griffin was 6-9 for 68 yards and two touchdowns, but the rest of the game he was just 4-11 for 16 yards and no touchdowns. Despite his obvious pain and lessened mobility, the Redskins continued to run plays such as read options and pass plays that required him to roll out in one direction. It was poor play-calling and it was part of the reason they 'Skins lost the ballgame.

Mike Shanahan said in the postgame that he might have been wrong to leave Griffin in for as long as he did, but let me assure Shanahan that he was 100% wrong. Here's why: while Griffin may have said he was good to go, his play said otherwise. The playoffs are win-or-go-home scenarios and there's not much time for error. After RGIII aggravated his knee in the first quarter the Redskins should have limited him to a pocket passer. A quick look at his stats tells the tale. He simply wasn't the same and it's not as though Washington had Joe Webb sitting on the sidelines. They had Kirk Cousins, a more than capable backup who had shown promise in his playing time earlier in the year.

Shanahan refused to make the switch and the offense sputtered, failing to score for the rest of the game. I understand that football is a man's game and there's something to be said for being a warrior for your team. RGIII was a warrior. He tried to continue on, but the reality is that he wasn't the best man for the job after the first quarter and it was visible. The reason people (including me) criticized Jay Cutler two years ago is because his pain was never visible. No one knew he was hurt; he just didn't play the second half. With Griffin we could see the limp, see the grimaces every time he ran and see the statistics plummet.

Shanahan made an error in judgement and it cost his team the game. However, blame is hardly what matters here as we all hope the 22 year old star gets good news about his knee and can heal quickly. It seems that we have seen far too many young stars go down with knee injuries in the past couple years. Derrick Rose, Ricky Rubio, Blake Griffin, John Wall, Adrian Peterson and perhaps Griffin all have been sidelined for long periods of time. Injuries are realities of the games we play, but this one hurts especially because it seemed obvious that it was only a matter of time before RGIII crumpled to the ground in pain.

In the fourth quarter when his knee gave out on him and he laid on the ground, it was as if the entire nation held their breath, hoping he would get back up. He finally did and he walked off on his own power, but there's a certain gloom over the sports world today. Hopefully this will serve as a lesson to coaches in all sports that when a player is injured he must be taken out. The game means a lot, but a career means more.