Much of the analysis of tennis player Emma Raducanu’s incredible victory at the US Open last weekend has centred around what a great role model she is. Commentators have speculated on the huge impact the 18-year-old’s success could have on those on young girls who might now consider picking up a tennis racquet, after the late deal allowing Channel 4 to show the final brought it into many more millions of homes.
Raducanu’s inspiring backstory has become familiar: born in Canada to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother before moving to the UK at the age of 2, she has been seen as a shining example of immigration as a force for good. Some have homed in on the fact that, just a few months ago, the main preoccupation of her Twitter account was whether her upcoming A-level exams would be going ahead; this will no doubt be harked back to by countless parents and educators as they tell children that dreams of sporting glory must not cloud the importance of education. And now that Raducanu’s fluency in Mandarin has emerged, approving parents across the land are telling their offspring, “See? Learning a language is important.”
Raducanu’s impact has been huge - she is already favourite for BBC Sports Personality of the Year - and teachers have already been swapping ideas for lessons and resources that would capitalise on pupils’ interest in her story.
Emma Raducanu and great role models from sport
She is still, however, very much at the start of her story; last Saturday may prove to be the defining high point of her career, or she may go on to achieve much else on and off the court. How much of a lasting legacy she will have remains unknown.
If we look to the past, sports stars who remain in the public consciousness long after they retired are often remembered for qualities beyond their sporting prowess. Billie Jean King may have won 39 Grand Slam titles, but her defining achievement was her long battle for equal rights and pay for female tennis players. Muhammad Ali may have won era-defining fights against Sonny Liston, George Foreman and Joe Frazier, but the most emblematic moment of his career came when he refused the draft to the Vietnam War.
The most influential and lasting of role models, then, do not just have exceptional ability - they also challenge the status quo.
There was an insightful quote last week from the headteacher at Orkney’s Kirkwall Grammar, whose Theo Ogbhemhe - a teacher of religious, moral and philosophical studies - had just been named the first winner of the Saroj Lal Award for a Pioneering Spirit in Equality and Diversity, a prize open to teachers throughout Scotland.
The head, Claire Meakin, said that Kirkwall Grammar was “very lucky to have such a strong role model who challenges us all to do the right thing, every day”.
It’s a crucial point: Ogbhemhe inspires not just because of his excellence as a teacher but because he asks awkward questions, encourages pupils to challenge discrimination and is, he says, driven by the constant struggle “to make myself a better person and society a better place”.
Schools - whose walls are never short of inspirational quotes from the likes of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr - know that the role models who inspire their pupils have often taken a defiant stand for or against something.
Summing up his credo, Ogbhemhe said: “I want to see a world where the majority see promoting equality and diversity, and actively challenging discrimination, as their individual duty - a world where social justice drives our actions.”
It’s no wonder he is such a powerful role model: like so many others who inspire, his ambitions and influence reach far beyond the physical confines of his workplace.
@Henry_Hepburn
This article originally appeared in the 17 September 2021 issue under the headline “Being The Greatest isn’t enough - role models must take a stand”
