This headline caught my eye this morning:

Coles shares secret: Jets receiver reveals he was sexually abused as child

The article goes on to say how the NY Jets wide receiver, Laveranues Coles, was sexually abused by his stepfather when he was growing up. The stepfather has sense been divorced by Coles mom, and sent to prison for a few different infractions.

My first thought when reading the headline was actually quite insensitive: “Who cares?” I figured just because this guy is a pro athlete, what makes his story of abuse any more newsworthy than the little boy that lives a few houses down from you who hasn’t been able to tell his story out of fear of embarassment.

But then I read the article and this changed my mind. Coles said:

“I haven’t talked about it in … forever, but I know that holding something like that inside has been a burden for so long,” Coles said Sunday after helping the Jets beat Miami 17-7. “For me to get on this platform that I have, having been in the league and have all the media attention that we have, I think it’s something that should be said.

“If it gets one kid to come out and say, `Look, this is happening to me,’ … I think it’s right.”

Here is an athlete that knows that little kids look up to him as a role model. A guy that knows he has the power of the media at his fingertips and is using it in a GOOD way. It’s sad to think that this is happening to little boys and girls around the world, but it’s a reality. And maybe, this brings a little bit of hope to a few of those kids to let them know that no… it’s not ok. Maybe we need more people in this world that have a voice to be the kind of role model that Coles is being.