"The only reason we make good role models is because you guys look up to athletes and we can influence you in positive ways. But the real role models should be your parents and teachers!"
About this Quote
Hall is pushing back on the celebrity logic that turns a good season into a moral credential. He concedes the obvious PR truth - athletes can “influence you in positive ways” - but he frames that influence as accidental, not earned. The key move is in “the only reason”: he’s saying the role-model status doesn’t come from athletes’ superior character, it comes from the audience’s gaze. Fans create the pedestal, then act surprised when the person on it turns out to be human.
The subtext is a quiet indictment of a culture that outsources guidance to people who are paid to perform, not to parent. Hall isn’t denying athletes’ responsibilities; he’s narrowing them. By redirecting admiration toward “parents and teachers,” he draws a boundary around what sports fame should mean: inspiration, maybe, but not instruction. It’s also a defense mechanism. In an era when every misstep can become a referendum on an entire league, the quote functions like a liability waiver: don’t ask me to raise your kid because you bought my jersey.
Context matters. For decades, American sports have sold “character” alongside highlights, while schools and families have been underfunded, overworked, or simply less visible. Athletes are on screens; teachers aren’t. Hall’s line lands because it’s both grateful and corrective: he acknowledges the power of influence, then calls out the misplaced faith that gives it to him in the first place.
The subtext is a quiet indictment of a culture that outsources guidance to people who are paid to perform, not to parent. Hall isn’t denying athletes’ responsibilities; he’s narrowing them. By redirecting admiration toward “parents and teachers,” he draws a boundary around what sports fame should mean: inspiration, maybe, but not instruction. It’s also a defense mechanism. In an era when every misstep can become a referendum on an entire league, the quote functions like a liability waiver: don’t ask me to raise your kid because you bought my jersey.
Context matters. For decades, American sports have sold “character” alongside highlights, while schools and families have been underfunded, overworked, or simply less visible. Athletes are on screens; teachers aren’t. Hall’s line lands because it’s both grateful and corrective: he acknowledges the power of influence, then calls out the misplaced faith that gives it to him in the first place.
Quote Details
| Topic | Parenting |
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