RECENTLY the Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who was just suspended for 211 games for steroid use, proclaimed that he still wanted to be a role model, despite “all the noise.”

Here’s something to think about. It may not be A-Rod’s drug use or lying that should preclude him from being a role model. It’s his very success.

Recent research into role models says we may be choosing the wrong people to emulate, and that could be hurting us professionally.

“The more exceptional performers are, the less we may learn from them,” said Chengwei Liu, an assistant professor of strategy and behavioral science at the University of Warwick in Britain.