Joey Barton says footballers ARE role models, but parents are IDIOTS for telling children to follow everything players do Joey Barton says footballers are role models in an industry that takes itself too seriously He thinks children should not to copy everything that players might do Barton feels there are added pressures when living in the public eye By JACK BEZANTS FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 19:51 EST, 9 January 2015 | UPDATED: 19:51 EST, 9 January 2015 Queen Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton believes that footballers should be thought of as role models, but people should not be so quick to castigate players if and when they make mistakes. The 32-year-old feels that more consideration needs to be given regarding the pressures that come with living life in the public eye. And Barton, renowned for his straight-talking approach, is mystified by the idea that footballers are expected to behave perfectly all of the time while competing on the pitch. please log in to view this image +3 Joey Barton (right) challenges Ki Sung-Yueng (left) of Swansea for possession in the Premier League clash please log in to view this image +3 Barton (second right) tries to calm Wayne Routledge (third right) as tensions spill over 'Are footballers role models? I suppose we are, and we have to be mindful of what we say and what we do, but as an industry we take ourselves far too seriously,' Barton said in an interview with the Daily Mirror. 'I see pundits on the box, saying kids will watch Match of the Day and copy what they see, but if you tell your children to live their lives exactly as they see footballers on the telly doing it, you must be a bit of an idiot. 'If you copied Hollyoaks or EastEnders everyone would kill each other over Christmas, because that's what happens on TV, isn't it?' Barton added that learning from mistakes under the gaze of the masses provides high profile figures with pressures that most people do not have to face. please log in to view this image +3 Barton will look to lead Queens Park Rangers to their first away win of the season against Burnley on Saturday 'We all screw up, we screw up multiple times on multiple scales, but when every decision you make is in the spotlight, a lot of responsibility comes with it,' Barton said. Barton will be looking to lead by example when QPR travel to Burnley on Saturday, looking to end a miserable run of 10 defeats in 10 on the road in the Premier League this season.
Maybe Jack Bezants' mum should have insisted he went to school. He quotes Barton then turns the quote around and makes it his headline! Barton said: " if you tell your children to live their lives exactly as they see footballers on the telly doing it, you must be a bit of an idiot." Thick Jack of the Mail says: "Joey Barton says .... parents are idiots for telling children to follow everything players do". Spot the difference! What he should have reported was ""Joey Barton says .... parents WOULD BE a bit of an idiot for telling children to follow everything players do". There can be no doubt that Jack Bezants is a w**ker who would manipulate his own grandmother's words to get paid for a "story".
The sub editors write the headline Eamon, not the journo. Cause of many fisticuffs in the olden days of newspapers when the journos cared. Barton actually talking some sense, though 'if' or not, I don't think many parents do tell kids to use footballers as role models, they just unconsciously look up to people who have a lot of money, glamourous liestyles and kick a ball for a living, not requiring GCSEs.
So, basically, players are role models but not necessarily good ones. Also, players like Barton might have their own pressures but I don't think someone like Joey, who has no personal experience of not being a professional sportsman can have a real idea about the pressures that the regular folks he's aiming the comments at actually experience.
