So called Role Models?

I spent some time today reading about Quincy Carter's quick departure from the Cowboys. Four days ago he was the starting quarterback for Dallas and lead them into the playoffs. Now he is unemployed. Why? Speculations say that he used illegal substances and failed a recent drug test given by the Cowboys. He has already failed the league's test and has been in rehab since he started in the NFL three years ago, and as critics say, this problem has followed Carter since his glory days at the University of Georgia. Whether he did use cocaine or marijuana is debatable, but Jerry Jones and Coach Parcells dished out some heavy and decisive punishment.

I'm glad to see teams take action like this. Am I a fan of the Cowboys? No. But I do respect their decision to be a team that will not tolerate behavior displayed by Carter. Kids look up to these players, they are role models. And why should they get special treatment? The answer is, they shouldn't. Steve McNair recently had his DUI case thrown out of court. Why, I can't say. But I hope that the justice system didn't dismiss it because he his a premier football player and a key society figure here in Nashville. And this whole Kobe case....

I just wish we would stop giving these athletes a break from crimes that people commit everyday. My wife used to be a probation officer and she would come in contact with drug users, DUI fellons, and society's dysfuncitonal. So why should these people be thrown in jail, put on probation and given fines and not our "role model" star figures?