My model of a rolemodel

For those of you who haven't been paying attention to the NBA Finals OKC was just defeated by the Miami Heat for the championship. One of the more notable headlines from the post-game was when OKC's Kevin Durant broke down into tears when he hugged his mom in the tunnel before getting to the locker room. The 23 year-old star always go straight to his mom for a hug and kiss after each game, even before he's interviewed on the court. Here's a good video. Look at his face right as he goes in for the hug.

If you've been around sports for a long time it's nothing new. Athletes who are on the brink of something so rare and treasured fall short and their emotions show. But you rarely see it in the pros. It probably happens, but off camera. To Durant, it didn't matter who saw it.

I started thinking about Durant and the authentic nature of his personality. Not just the tears, but his dedication to his mom. I can't tell you how many times I've seen comments online of people making fun of him for his post game ritual. His composure is unmatched by any other professional athlete in the NBA. He never tosses his hands in the air or yells to a referee. Even when he was blatantly fouled on a game tying shot in the NBA Finals he didn't complain or place blame on anyone but himself.

Paxton will most likely look up to a professional athlete at some point of his childhood. Most little boys do. Mine was Ken Griffey Jr. and Jerry Rice. They were my all-time favorites. My parents were fortunate because I picked them on my own accord and both were class acts (not that they're dead, or anything).

Of course I don't want Paxton to look up to some athlete who gets busted for drugs, gets in a bar fight or cheats on his/her spouse. You can point these guys out and hopefully steer your child away from liking them. But what about the ones that seem like such a class act and then we find out they're not that great. Guys like Mark McGuire and Tiger Woods. Both cheated (one at baseball and the other on his wife). That's scary, but it's easy to teach your kid the valuable lesson in those situations too.

The type of role model that scares me doesn't do anything morally suspect or illegal. He's not doing steroids or hitting his wife. His actions are more subtle and intangible. I fear the my son will one day look up to guys like Chad Ochocinco, Lebron James or Terrell Owens. Guys who get in confrontations with coaches because they don't get the ball thrown to them enough. Guys who win a championship with their team and one of the first things they do is put a shirt on that has a portrait of themselves.

If my son has some God-given talent that puts him in a leadership role at his job, in sports or any situation then I hope this is not the person he turns into. But when's he's at his most impressionable ages and developing his moral compass I'm afraid that he will let guys like this convince him that it's okay to be this person. How do you teach your kid that is wrong?

I want to see tears from my son when he fails. Because that passion is what will drive him to another opportunity where he will succeed. I hope that he never gets to a point where the motivation he needs is his own face on a t-shirt and a Twitter account where he self proclaims himself as The King.