Editorial: Cricketer needs to get act together

NBA star Charles Barkley famously said from the platform of a Nike commercial: "I am not a role model."

After a raft of controversial off-court actions, his refusal to be perfectly clean just because he played basketball at a professional level sparked a debate over sports stars as role models.

The things he said during those years in the 90s - that other adults were jealous, that kids shouldn't look up to sports stars 'cos they'll never be as good as them - could well be the same thoughts that are running through Jesse Ryder's head.

Ryder and his Black Caps teammate Doug Bracewell have been ruled out of the next game after getting into a stoush with fans who ribbed them about the team's recent scoring record.

Given they were injured, and therefore not meant to be drinking, the punishment seems to be something of a slap on the hand and free ticket to do it again despite it being the latest in a line of indiscretions on Ryder's part.

Without being there it's hard to know the level of the goading they took at that Napier pub. But who hasn't had the mickey taken out of them at some point over what they do for a dollar during the day?

Given Ryder's history - among it cutting his hand trying to break into a bar toilet, being rude to hospital staff and on a separate occasion missing a team meeting because of a night on the booze - you'd think that even after a few beers he'd know his reputation was on thin ice and it just wasn't worth it.

Perhaps, like Barkley, he believes he was born with a talent for a sport that has seen him become a household name and that he didn't ask for all his young fans.

But nevertheless the fans are there and how awkward it must be for their parents when they have to explain after each stuff-up.

Ryder has a responsibility, whether he chose it or not, to be a role model.

Because when you get to earn your keep by playing cricket, which at the end of the day is just a game, responsibility comes with the pay cheque.

And when you accept that pay cheque surely you accept your job is in the public eye and you're representing more than 4 million people to whom you have a duty.

Ryder's latest night on the booze only shows he needs help and ultimately, as a grown man, needs to grow up.