With all the disheartening stories of steroids, gambling and criminal activity in professional sports today, the word professional has ironically become somewhat of a mockery. If there is one thing that sports “professionals” should be reminded of today it would be, “You are responsible for your actions and there are consequences for your actions.”

These words came from former MLB umpire Steve Palermo Tuesday evening as he spoke to a crowd in the Kansas Union. He was not speaking about Barry Bonds, Michael Vick or Pacman Jones. Palermo was speaking of a man serving a 75-year sentence for shooting and paralyzing him 16 years ago.

It was July 7, 1991, and Steve Palermo was enjoying dinner with friends after covering a Texas Rangers game. The party stopped when a bartender noticed two waitresses being mugged across the street. Palermo and five others, being Good Samaritans, responded to the situation by trying to break up the violent scene. Two of the muggers fled the scene in a car, while one man tried to break away on foot.

Palermo and his friend Terrance Man chased the culprit on foot, caught him and tackled him to the ground. The police, although called, did not arrive soon enough. The two other muggers and their getaway driver returned for the man Palermo and his friend pinned. Shots were fired, leaving Man wounded and Palermo paralyzed.

Palermo’s neurosurgeon told him that he would never walk again. The man who shot him received a hefty prison sentence. After years of physical therapy, Palermo was able to walk again, with the assistance of a cane. His words shared with the crowd in the Kansas Union ranged from being a major league umpire to recovering from paralysis. He also gave inspirational words on overcoming adversity.

If there was one thing Palermo revealed that should be reverberated throughout the world of sports, it would be his character. In a little over an hour, Palermo unveiled more integrity and honesty about life and sports than can be seen across sports headlines today. Whether it was in his days as one of the most respected umpires in baseball or his time spent recovering from paralysis, Palermo embodies something that is missing from many sports professionals.

In today’s world, it is easy to find sports professionals acting not so professional. Nearly every day we come across another story involving some sort of illegal activity on or off the field. In this past week alone, former Atlanta Falcon’s Michael Vick was indicted on charges of dog fighting and San Diego Padre’s Milton Bradley threw a baseball bat at umpire Mike Winters. In the past few months, NBA Hall of Famer Isaiah Thomas was involved in a sexual harassment scandal and OJ Simpson is facing 10 felony charges.

Other instances — such as Barry Bonds’ alleged steroid use, NBA referee Tim Donaghy fixing games and Bill Belichick stealing other teams’ plays on camera — show little regard for morals in sports today. With the millions of dollars involved in professional sports, it is easy to feel untouchable as an athlete, official or coach. Stories like Palermo’s show that even if one does the right thing, the glamour and fame that come with being a sports professional can be taken away at any moment.

Palermo still works for MLB by supervising, evaluating and training umpires. He hopes to return one day to the baseball field to work as an umpire again. Just to give you an idea of how high of an ethical standard Palermo has, when asked about returning to umpiring high school or college games until he is healthy enough to cover a major league game, he commented, “I will not cheat the game because the game never cheated me. I will not go back until I am a 100 percent [healthy].”

A man who respects the game so much that he does not want to umpire until he can accurately officiate the game of baseball for health reasons is a man needed by professional sports.

Given all of the athletes who had a gift and squandered it with poor ethical standards and lack of judgment, you cannot help but root for Steve Palermo. He is a sports professional who was cheated out of his trade by a coward looking to make a few bucks off a couple waitresses.

When asked by someone in the crowd about returning to the game as an umpire, he responded, “I would like to just go out and cover the game the way I used to.” At the end of the day Palermo would like nothing more than to leave the game “on my terms, not the shooters,” he said.

For the sake of sports “professionals” today, we should hope so too.

— Edited by Meghan Murphy