Be Careful Little Feet Where You Go

At 23, Ben Rothlisberger became the youngest starting quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. At 27, he had already won two.

Now, at age 28, he is facing possible prison time. Last week’s accusation of rape was the latest in a series of events in Ben’s life that have gone wrong.

I have been hearing many rebuking Rothlisberger. What is fascinating to me is, they are coming from outside the church community.

Time was, professional athletes could behave like Ben Rothlisberger. Fans and the media would turn a blind eye to their activities. It was probably in this era when the cliché “boys will be boys” was coined.

Now, such is not the case. Talk radio, magazines, newspapers, and fans are questioning the propriety of athletes placing themselves in situations that could potentially go wrong. Please note, they are not saying that being in those situations are wrong in themselves, they are raising the question of discernment.

Just last week, I heard a national radio host, a self-proclaimed secularist, say that well-known professional athletes have no business going into nightclubs. His studio engineer piped in that nothing good can come from professional atheletes entering these establishments—only bad. They sounded like preachers I grew up hearing!

Say what you will about our culture going bad. This is a good move though. Who knows? Maybe athletes and others will listen.