Athletes misbehaving is not by any stretch of the imagination an old topic and that, in itself, is a disturbing fact.

As you read this, former Miami Dolphins' running back Ricky Williams is allegedly undergoing treatment in the National Football League's substance abuse program.

As you read this, former Baylor basketball player Carlton Dotson is adjusting, having spent the first few nights of a 35-year prison sentence for murdering one of his former teammates.

As you read this, the NFL has already issued suspensions to a number of players for the upcoming season, and several more of its more high-profile players have decided that they don't feel like coming to camp until they can get more money.

As you read this, hundreds of thousands of fans are filling major league stadiums and asking themselves "I wonder if he's on the creme or the clear."

And last, but certainly not least, good old Barry Bonds continues to blame everybody on the planet but himself for the woes in his life.

Terrific. What a way to set an example. Get on the national stage, in front of thousands of fans in the stadium, and millions more watching at home and make an ass of yourself, your team, and your profession.

It's a disturbing trend and, regardless of preventives measures, it just keeps growing.

The United States is the only planet in the world where sports is such a major facet of its national collective heartbeat (tell that to European football fans! -ed.) We live and die by the fortunes of our teams, and our favorite players. A nation built on the premise of Manifest Destiny, we move about the land and use our allegiances to the Yankees, Brewers, Cowboys or Celtics to bond with others.

We look up to those players, fairly or not, as heroes; as people to emulate, and as goals to strive for. We trash our president for being an idiot, chastise him for having tried drugs in his youth. His predecessor was nearly removed from office for partaking in an extra-marital affair. But we accept that in our athletic heroes?

We may live in a forgiving society, but when do we start to expect more?

Athletes are given a platform here like no other people on the planet, and what are they using it for? Nothing. Not a damn worthwhile thing.

The National Basketball Association for years promoted a "Stay in School" campaign. Urging our country's youth to obtain an education and make something of themselves, yet how many of its marquee employees are household names now, after -- for all intents and purposes -- dropping out of school.

Charles Barkley told a generation of young Americans that he was not their role model. Michael Jordan, while idolized by millions more, portrayed the message that we, too, could "be like Mike," especially if we drank his drink, bought his shoes and wore his underpants.

The Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s were America's Team. And sadly, the womanizing, drug-consuming, law-breaking ways were a depressing mirror of the sad state of the decaying moral and social fabric of this nation.

Bonds, along with Mark McGuire, Jose Canseco, Jeremy Giambi and the rest of the bulked up sluggers of baseball -- no matter their innocence or guilt -- have shown a generation of kids that cheating is OK, especially if its a grey area.

The phrase "where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio," while clichéd, is never more accurate than it is today. It's not meant as a whiny sportswriter majestically looking back on the "good old days," but rather as a plea to those individuals who fill our newspapers, television screens and Web sites with their images and pitches to use that position of exposure for good.

The NFL runs those wonderful ads featuring a variety of their players volunteering their time for the United Way. It's heartwarming, but so very corporate.

You have to wonder what would happen if Chad Johnson held up a sign in the end zone that said "Donate to Toys for Tots," or if Terrell Owens would have used his Sharpie endorsement to get the company to help provide supplies to badly under-equipped schools.

And let's not even tackle Randy Moss moon over Green Bay last season.

LeBron James gave up college to follow a dream. Millions of kids will fork over millions of dollars to buy shoes created for James. Wouldn't it be novel is Nike had the courage to donate part of the however-many-hundred dollar cost of the footwear to scholarship funds for those who don't have the god given gift to shoot a basketball?

If you're going to use the stage and spotlight, do something productive with it. Don't waste our time, and insult our intelligence. So on this Father's Day, make sure you take a few moments to show your kids who the real role models are.