article: Tyson Fury was one of the more recent, glaring examples of how daft the whole concept can be. The boxer might be heavyweight champion of the world but he has a very strange view of it. Fame and success might bring money and profile, but not always respect. You need something extra for that. In the grand scheme of sport's descent into the gutter, Fury is a relative innocent. From cheating athletes to corrupt sporting teams and nations to institutionally crooked associations, so much has poisoned professional sport. But then along comes somebody who inspires awe for all the right reasons and makes you refocus on the good guys rather than the bad. The admiration for Andy and Jamie Murray at the Australian Open - and beyond - is vast, but it is the life story of Helensburgh's Gordon Reid that stands out above all others, even if he's never likely to get a fraction of the attention of his more glamorous countrymen. As of Saturday morning UK time Reid became the Australian Open wheelchair champion. En route, he beat his doubles partner, Shingo Kunieda, the world number one who had won eight of the previous nine Australian Open titles. In the final, Reid, ranked fifth in the world, beat Belgium's Joachim Gerard, the world number four. Media playback is not supported on this device Reid won two doubles Grand Slam titles last year, and though he fell at the final hurdle in Melbourne, Saturday brought his first singles crown. It's not just talent or hard work that got him there. Where he is a beacon of positivity and a hugely inspiring figure - not just for our kids but for everyone - is his strength of character in the face of cataclysmic adversity. Reid is only 24. As a six-year-old he fell in love with tennis. At 12, he contracted a neurological condition in his spine called transverse myelitis that put him in hospital for six months and in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Before he had even left hospital he had started thinking about competing as a wheelchair tennis player. Twelve years old, remember. Twelve! In an interview last year he spoke of his mindset. "You can focus on what you can do instead of worrying about things you can't do and what's been taken away from you," he said. He spoke of his "dark moments" and "periods of my life where I was quite down and finding it quite hard, but I think tennis has definitely been a big help to me and helped me overcome a lot of the hurdles that have been placed my way. It was just about making the choice of not letting the condition defeat me and just trying to turn things back around." As glorious as his game is, his words are just as powerful. Reid is a beacon of brilliance and, yes, a role model, in every sense. Jordan Rhodes is on the cusp of a move up the pecking order of the Championship, from Blackburn in 18th place
summary: The notion of sportsmen and sportswomen being deemed worthy role models for our children has taken such a battering over the years that you wonder why some people still persist with it.