Mike Leake caught stealing $60 worth of T-shirts

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6384863

Yesterday ESPN reported that Mike Leake, the 23 year old Reds pitcher, was arrested yesterday for shoplifting and could serve jail time for up to 180 days. For a young pitcher that makes just under 500 grand a year, why would he steal $60 worth of t-shirts from Macy’s? To me this makes no sense. Why would someone who makes as much money as Leake ever even take the chance of being caught and have his career in jeopardy? Obviously nothing will ever come of this in court or really jeopardize his career because of who he is, but why even take the chance? When you see something like this I can see why people stereotype athletes as being entitled. Decisions such as this one are the reason why athletes get the rep of doing dumb things for no good reasons. Many athletes get upset when a little thing they get in trouble for is magnified through the media. However that’s the risk they take when their successes can also be magnified. So many young kids these days look at professional athletes as their role models and people to look up to. When you have a young, successful athlete doing something dumb like this it affects the kids that look up to the athletes. Professional athletes have a lot of perks and privileges that come along with their money and fame, but they also have to realize they live in a house with glass walls. Professional athletes, especially young ones, need to realize the responsibility they carry along with their large contracts.