none of this taints his legacy
Dude. We agree. Athletes who have great success in their careers are by and large remembered for their great success.
Regarding role models, athletes are role models whether they like it or not. They sell their autographs to kids. They sell their jerseys to kids. They want kids to follow them. That kind of following comes with at least some responsibility to conduct themselves a certain way.
I didn't call Jordan a bad guy. I said he did some bad things. I read about him abusing his teammates in some article. I think someone actually put it in a book? I just remember being very surprised, because Jordan's image in the media was pristine. They never reported bad stuff about the guy. Teflon Man.
There is a difference between holding people accountable and physically or verbally abusing them, just because you can. I've found that if you lead by example, demand excellence, and treat people with respect they will do whatever they can to perform. (At least most of them.)
Given your views on marital fidelity you probably won't think this is "bad," but Irvin had a wife and kids and had a little harem. He actually put one or more women up in apartments where he would go have sex, use drugs, etc. He was very arrogant about it. I remember seeing a picture of him showing up for a court appearance wearing a full length fur coat, acting like a 1970s movie pimp. All he needed was the platform shoes with the goldfish.
He was just a lousy person.
The fact you don't even know much about Irvin’s troubles just proves that bad conduct by great athletes does not destroy the athletes' legacy. (This isn’t a criticism of you.)