There's eight seconds left in the fourth quarter. Smith dribbles down the court, he stops, he pops, he scores! He murders his wife. It seems like every day there is a new story about an athlete breaking the law or using poor judgment. I've heard a lot about actions that need to be taken to prevent this problem with our nation's "role models." First of all, no professional athlete should have rules to make sure he is a good role model. Athletes get paid to play sports, not raise children. As long as an athlete operates within the boundaries of the law, then he or she has no need to change or have new rules to stop that person's natural rights. People want laws saying that athletes cannot gamble (in a legal gambling area) or cannot drink because kids see this and are persuaded into those bad habits. True, kids do look up to these people, but that is no reason to restrict adult athletes from doing what so many other adults can legally do. Kids look up to everyone, athlete or not, so those who want athlete restrictions might as well outlaw drinking or gambling for everyone. If they feel doing something like gambling in a legal state is that bad, then outlaw it for everyone. Changes do need to be made, however, when it comes to a league discovering an illegal act by an athlete. There have been so many cases in the NFL (Dallas Cowboys) where an athlete was caught performing illegal acts and no legal action was enforced. Player suspension occurs, but nothing more. Leon Lett was caught with cocaine five years ago; the league did suspend him but no legal action was taken. That is not right. A crime was committed and he should pay as anyone else would. Actions like these are equivalent to a businessman being caught at the office with a load of crack and the manager tells him to just go home for a week and think about what he's done. If an athlete is caught with illegal substances, he or she should be punished the same as any other member of society: arrested or fined, depending on the severity of the situation. If there is one thing we are portraying to kids through athletes, it is that once you are a professional athlete you can get away with much more than anyone else. I am happy to see, however, that murder is not something a professional athlete can escape. Rae Carruth of the Carolina Panthers was charged with the murder of his wife about two months ago. Last Monday Pro-Bowler Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens was charged with a double murder while partying after the Superbowl in Atlanta. While the death of three people is a sad event, the fact that these two football players were held responsible despite their status is a small light at the end of a tunnel showing that a line has finally been drawn somewhere, even if it was drawn at murder. We need to all understand what most kids do not: professional athletes are human too. Though they make a lot more money than most of us, they deal with problems just like anyone else and they deserve to be treated the same way.