-
ADD TIME NEWS
- MOBILE APPS
- NEWSLETTERS
Joey Cheek

Call me old-fashioned. Or just call me old (I'll be 41 this year). But my philosophy toward sports is a cliche: it isn't so much the result that makes me proud of an athlete or a performance; it's the effort. It's how an athlete handles wins and losses. It's attitude. And it's about understanding that being great at a sport doesn't make you a great person.
I am proud of Joey Cheek. Sure, I am proud of his accomplishments on the ice. He had a dream season this year, winning a world sprint championship and two Olympic medals, a gold in the 500 m and a silver in the 1,000 m in Torino. I am proud that he won these medals in my sport of speedskating. But what Cheek did upon winning his Olympic medals is what makes me most proud.
Cheek, 26, donated his $40,000 in bonus money ($25,000 for gold and $15,000 for silver) to an organization called Right to Play, which helps kids in the war-torn, poverty-stricken countries in Africa. Corporate-matched donations have multiplied that into hundreds of thousands of dollars. So many sports figures dominate the headlines for the wrong reasons. Many parents have been waiting for a worthy role model their kids can look up to. Need we look further?
The 1,000-m Olympic gold medalist in '94, Jansen has held eight speedskating world records
Next: Chen Guangcheng >>
Most Popular »
- Tuition Hikes: Protests in California and Elsewhere
- The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
- Female Sexual Dysfunction: Myth or Malady?
- The Fall of Greg Craig, Obama's Top Lawyer
- New Moon Review: Team Jacob Ascending
- Fat Fees and Smoker Surcharges: Tough-Love Health Incentives
- Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin
- The Story of Barack Obama's Mother
- Hey Ireland, Please Drop the World Cup Do-Over
- Three Key Lessons from Obama's China Tour
- The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
- Did the Army Ignore Red Flags Because of Hasan's Religion?
- Tuition Hikes: Protests in California and Elsewhere
- Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin
- Fat Fees and Smoker Surcharges: Tough-Love Health Incentives
- The Story of Barack Obama's Mother
- Three Key Lessons from Obama's China Tour
- Female Sexual Dysfunction: Myth or Malady?
- Why California is Still America’s Future
- Zynga Harvests The Cyberfarmer







RSS