Professional athletes are some of the most visible athletes in society today and with that visibility comes an additional layers of responsibility that is imposed on them compared to other kinds of figures in the public eye. 

While celebrities like musicians or movie stars or online influencers may reach a higher level of perceived fame relative to most athletes, the unique mechanics involved in the development of athletes as celebrities means that more often than not, they are looked at as role models or figures that young people can look to as examples of how to act and live.

Part of that is due to fanbases.

While people of all ages are sports fans, kids often encompass the main demographic growing up with sports and seeing athletes sometimes not much older than they are succeed at such a high and visible level.

With sporting events being something more accessible than a red carpet premier or a massive concert, kids have a much better chance of meeting their sports heroes up close than they would any other celebrity, so it's easier to form a kind of personal connection.

Another factor is the values instilled into the idea of sports as a whole. The romanticism of sports is that they are something founded on hard work, respect and sportsmanship, all positive values for a young person, so athletes become representations of those values and role models that people project onto. 

But there's a certain danger in that parasocial dynamic as well. Athletes, while operating on a public stage, are still simply people and there's nothing in the job description that says they have to be a good person behind the scenes, only that they perform during games and keep things as neat as they can in the public eye. 

So the idea of athletes are required to be role models has been a long ongoing debate. Kevin Durant has taken to X in the past to say that he isn't a role model and in a recent interview on the Jao Mile podcast, translated into English by Basket News, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic shared a similar sentiment. 

"I don't know if a public figure can really influence kids; that role belongs to friends and family," the three-time MVP said. "I don't think I have that much influence on young people; people tell me, "They look up to you." Well, they shouldn't, I didn't look up to others either. I disagree with people on this, even if my opinion might not be popular."

Jokic went on to further say outright that people "shouldn't be looking up to me" and shared that while he had good and bad examples in his life, he always felt like he did the right thing, further supporting his feelings about people moderating their own behavior and not necessarily needing celebrity role models to do it. 

He makes a valid point in that while athletes can be an external positive role model, they aren't responsible for actually raising any kids outside of their own. Ultimately, the people personally within someone's life has more influence over them than any public figure does, no matter has accessible that figure may seem. 

For an athlete in the public eye, being a positive figure in someone's life is inherently an extra, albeit good, thing they can choose to do, but it isn't a necessary thing for them to do their job and it isn't something that most of them asked for as they pursued their own dreams in sports.