Professional athletes have a lot of responsibility, perhaps more than they should be given.

Whether it’s right to do so or not, all sport stars become role models. Impressionable children grow up watching, emulating and idolizing these larger than life figures on the screen.

Recently Brian Urlacher, long-time middle linebacker of the Chicago Bears, has admitted to using a pain-killing drug named Toradol, more importantly going on to state that he would never tell his training staff if he had a concussion.

From a pure football aspect, this isn’t really news. Everyone knows that players want to go out on the field, want to play and will do anything to do so.

Looking at it from a bigger point of view, admitting to this is inadmissible in multiple aspects.

First off, as a member of the first NFL team to make base-line concussion testing mandatory (although obviously we know this does little) in 1995, it breaches the organizations integrity.

Not to mention, Urlacher’s ex teammate Hunter Hillenmeyer, who ultimately retired from football because of multiple concussions.

It also sets the wrong example of how to view life as an athlete. For most athletes, whether they’re in pee-wee football, high school, or right here at NIU, sports are all they’ve ever known.

It’s understandable to not admit a weakness and lose the remainder of playing time in the game, or perhaps even a season.

However, allowing your identity as a human being to become football does no good for the individual or their loved ones.

We know from research of the dangers of multiple concussions, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Children, or young aspiring college students, should not take the world view that if they cannot play football, they have no other purpose to life or desire to do anything else.

The love of the game should never surpass the love of family, oneself, or the relationships that tie us to one another.

If that love burns too strongly, there is always ways to be involved with the game other than suiting up and destroying opposing players on the field.

Families would rather have a son or brother that never made it to the big show, than one who died far too young from stubborn pride of playing a game.