Just Who Is Yoli Pena?

At just 20 years of age Yoli Pena is a model, a promoter, a full time student and….. A BOXER. Originally from Mexico, Yoli has been doing contact sports since the age of 7. She started off doing Karate in a small town in Arkansas, America. After winning a few fights she realised that she was a little more stronger that the other girls.

Yoli’s first fight, although not in the ring, was in seventh grade. Another student pulled at her skirt and she punched his lights out.

A recent graduate from the University of Texas, Yoli is an avid sports star, playing soccer, basketball, softball and volleyball. The reason for starting boxing according to Yoli is that her parents fought alot while growing up and this lead to her moving out of her parents house. She was scared of punching her dad.

More and more youngsters are turning to sports to deal with stresses at home. Sport is a great way to tune out and leave your troubles behind for a few hours a day. It builds character in the face of diversity and it allows youngsters to build a future out of nothing. It’s a pity though how so many sports stars today take this priviledge and their talents for granted by taking advantage of their positions.

Assault. Rape. Driving under the influence. Fraud. Drug abuse. These are normally not the headlines you see when you open your favourite sports magazine or newspaper- well not until recently. Lately we have seen basketball player Kobe Bryant accused of rape and cheating on his wife. Tampa Bay football player, Warren Sapp, was fined R350 000 for using abusive language with officials. University of Southern California basketball player Rolando Howell, pleaded no context to a charge of criminal domestic violence.

We seem to have become so blinded by the great things these athletes do on the field, that we turn our cheek to the things they do off the field. It’s ironic that so many champions, who made it to the top of their sports through determination and discipline, could display such poor judgement when it comes to their personal lives off the field.

The ’system’ is often blamed for paying these youngsters crazy amounts of money and making celebrities out of them. But I believe the fans are also to blame. Perhaps we are too forgiving and willing to overlook the mistakes made by our sport idols.

Submitted by Verge Das Neves. Submit your own article and Get Published on CLDsport.