Ideal Rev Algenon Stickleback H To be honest, I don't think many youngsters are going to look at a player being threatened with criminals to pay off gambling debts and think gambling a cool thing to do as a result.
That was not my point.
Let me explain it to you:
Young people see footballers being criminals, gambling, drinking, killing people in traffic, drunk driving etc.
Young people then see those very same troubled inviduals being signed by clubs
Young people then equate 2+2, and come up with "it is ok to do whatever you want, break the law, behave like a complete asshole, because there will be no consequences to speak of".
Do you now understand what I was getting at?
""it is ok to do whatever you want, break the law, behave like a complete asshole, because there will be no consequences to speak of""
...if you are a footballer.
And as I said, youngsters (or anyone) don't hear about people gambling except when they are paying the price for their habit. i.e. gambling is something where people do see consequences.
The kind of kids who turn to a life of crime are by far more likely to be influenced by the lack of consequences for the drug dealers and other criminals they know and see on their streets than by footballers.
I mean, when the likes of Leroy Lita's antics come to light, they made him look a right prat, not a role model.