Public Shouldn’t Idolize Pond Scum

The issue of role models is much in the news these days, what with boxer/jailbird Mike Tyson making a comeback, drug addict/tax evader Darryl Strawberry signing a big contract with the New York Yankees and drunk driver/football star Erik Williams of the Dallas Cowboys facing sexual assault charges.

It’s horrifying to think about, but there are children in this country who look upon such characters as heroes.

Don’t you love the idea of your son or daughter swooning with admiration over the likes of Tyson, who served three years in prison on a rape conviction? Or Strawberry, who pleaded guilty to stiffing his fellow citizens out of $350,000 in federal income taxes - and whose 60-day suspension from baseball for abusing cocaine ended Friday?

Or how about Williams, who was convicted of criminal trespass in 1992, pleaded no contest to drunken driving last November and now finds himself accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old topless dancer?

How does the song go? “Let a hero lead the way?”

Heroes like these could lead a kid right to the big house.

Tyson was accorded a hero’s welcome Tuesday as he made his first public appearance in New York City since his recent release from prison in Indiana.

This prompted a protest by a group called African-Americans Against Violence, whose members apparently harbor a serious philosophical objection to the practice of idolizing convicted rapists.

Frankly, I’ve never been entirely convinced that Tyson committed the crime of which he was accused. But guilty or innocent - he insists he’s innocent - the behavior that landed him in a courtroom was reprehensible. Mike Tyson is a thug. Always was. Always will be.

Tyson used to be a great boxer and might be again. But that doesn’t make him a hero; it makes him a thug with a tremendous talent for prizefighting.

Strawberry is a jerk. Human beings can’t get more worthless than this guy. But he can hit a baseball, so the New York Yankees handed him a two-year contract that could be worth well over $2 million. While they’re at it, news reports indicate, the Yankees might sign up Strawberry’s former New York Mets teammate and fellow cokehead Dwight Gooden.

Why settle for one worthless slug when you can double your pleasure with Darryl and Dwight?

As for Erik Williams, it is quickly becoming obvious that he is, at best, a chronic troublemaker. Even if he didn’t commit the crime of sexual assault, he is guilty of some of the worst judgment this side of - well, this side of Mike Tyson and Darryl Strawberry.

We could go on all day, of course, about the character flaws of these particular sports superstars and many others, but we need to save some condemnation for the benefactors who keep throwing money at the bums no matter how badly they behave.

What are pay-per-view and cable TV executives thinking about when they invest millions in a convicted rapist and beam his boxing matches into America’s living rooms?

Is winning ball games the only thing that matters to sports magnates such as the Yankees’ George Steinbrenner and Jerry Jones of the Cowboys? Wouldn’t you think that every now and then one of these self-indulgent, zillionaire team owners would give a passing thought to the concepts of integrity and honor?

Jerry Jones was actually quoted in a newspaper the other day describing Erik Williams as “a highquality person.”

A high-quality person? The guy is pond scum.

But here’s the worst part. The public buys into all this.

We don’t have to watch Mike Tyson fight. We don’t have to buy tickets to cheer the likes of Strawberry and Williams as they demean the games they play.

What do you suppose would happen if Cowboy fans refused to set foot in Texas Stadium until Jones unloaded Erik Williams? Or if New York fans would start boycotting Yankee games the moment Strawberry buttons up those famous pinstripes?

Maybe everyone involved would suddenly start looking at this role model situation in a whole new light.