Drivers, Athletes as Role Models?

Drivers discuss their responsibilities

Whether it is increased activity or increased exposure, professional athletes seem to be seen in inappropriate situations more often these days. For race car drivers, language in post-event interviews has tended to be the main issue - and will certainly be an issue for the Nextel Cup drivers at temper-prone Martinsville (Va.) Speedway this weekend.

Do race car drivers have a responsibility as role models? Or are they private citizens, allowed to act any way they choose?

Here is what some race car drivers had to say:

Ken Schrader

KEN SCHRADER, Driver, #49 Schwan's Home Service Dodge:

"Asking if a NASCAR driver wants to be a role model is like asking a Dodge if it wants to be a car. No matter what you think, you are what you are.

"The question is, 'What kind of role model are you going to be?' You are either going to be someone people, especially kids, can look up to, or you are going to be someone their parents like to point at and say, 'Don't be like him!' I'd much rather be on the front page of the paper for winning a race than being arrested for something.

"We do have a responsibility. I mean, we look at ourselves as plain ol' everyday folks but there are others who watch what we do pretty closely. We have a responsibility to that. As a parent myself, I wish everyone - drivers, other professional athletes, entertainers, politicians, whoever - would live up to that too."

John Andretti

JOHN ANDRETTI, Driver, #1 DEI Chevrolet:

"I think for sure we have to be adults, and I think adults are role models. Because there is a lot more focus on us, and because people can see us at just about any time, the responsibility lies more on us than somebody else. It's difficult to be a perfect person, but in the reality of it all, it's part of our responsibility. It's our responsibility to try to be a representation of what we want our youth to become, whether we are race car drivers or any other profession. You can't expect them to become the adults we want them to be if they see and admire people who aren't good role models.

"As a father, my son collects a lot of memorabilia and loves to read about different athletes. Personally, I don't want him having an admiration for certain people when I don't respect that person's lifestyle. It's not a shelter. It's just that I don't want him to think that it is all right, because it's not. It's a responsibility we have."

Derrike Cope

DERRIKE COPE, Driver, #49 Advil Ford (Busch Series):

"When you move into the upper echelons of any professional sport, whether it is stock car racing or football or whatever, you obviously lose some, if not almost all, of your anonymity. In doing so, you become a role model. Whatever you do and however you do it, there are going to be people who will watch what you do and who you represent.

"There is a responsibility that goes along with that. Abuse and disregard for that responsibility can reflect adversely on a lot of people, including young children. Everything we do touches so many, and for every action there is a reaction. If you are going to be in this role, you have to be careful.

"Is it worth it, essentially being 'on stage' all the time you are in public? Well, a great deal of that is carrying yourself privately the same way you want the public to perceive you. Do that and you don't have a lot of problems. And absorb it while you can. One day it will be over, and somebody else will take your place."

Stanton Barrett

STANTON BARRETT, Driver, #94 AmericInn Taurus (Busch Series):

"I do think athletes, regardless of the sport, have a greater responsibility for their behavior in public. People look up to you, recognize you and you represent million or billion dollar companies and race teams; therefore, it's a part of your responsibility to represent them well at all times in public. Nobody is perfect, but when you represent all these people and organizations, you have to take that in consideration. Like it or not, when you are a celebrity or a sports figure anything that you do is magnified by the media. You're vulnerable, visible and you need to be a role model.

"It's our responsibility to carry ourselves in a manner that is appropriate to the people we represent. If that defines role model then, absolutely, drivers should be role models."

BRANDON WHITT, Driver, #38 Cure Autism Now Ford (Craftsman Truck Series):

"While I don't necessarily see myself as a role model, I'm not that far removed from my teen years either (Whitt is 21 years old). I know how I looked up, how I continue to look up, to various people - some athletes and some not - and how I pattern my own behavior after them sometimes.

"As a professional driver, that has to be in the back of my mind all of the time. Most of the time, it needs to be right out front. You never know who is looking and who is watching what you do, or how my behavior is going to affect someone else. So, yes, I do have a responsibility. I might want a young person to look towards a Richard Petty or someone like that, I have to remember that some might be looking at me.

"When I get out of the Truck, I think about that... no matter how mad I might be, or how happy I might be at the time. If you always act like your Mom is standing right there beside you and listening to every word you say, then you really don't have to worry how things are going to turn out. As race car drivers we need to think along those lines all the time."