Should athletes not publicize their good deeds?

The question posed in the headline was tackled during Wednesday’s edition of “The Michael Grey Show” on 710 ESPN Seattle. The genesis of the topic was what Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin said during his interview with “The Barbershop” the night before when asked why he doesn’t draw attention to the work he does in the community.

Baldwin’s response in its entirety:

“Because that’s not the way I was raised. That’s not what my mom taught me growing up. That’s just not who I am. That’s not what was instilled in me growing up. My mom, she was the one who sent me this Bible verse when I was in college. It’s Matthew 6: 1-4 and it says, ‘Make certain that you do not perform your duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have your reward from your Father in heaven.’

“So to me, it’s not about doing it out so that people can see. It’s supposed to be genuine, it’s supposed to be personal. To me, that’s what it is. So when I have these interactions with people or when I do things in the community, it’s between myself and the people I’m interacting with. That’s where the genuine feeling comes from. That’s how I feel. That’s just how I am and I’m not going to change.”

The gist of Grey’s take on the matter is that positive attention should never be the motivation behind good deeds but that sometimes it’s unintended. That conversation begins at the 21:31 mark of the second hour. The original question and comment came at the 18:46 mark of Baldwin’s interview with “The Barbershop”.