Upon watching the Cleveland Cavaliers play the Washington Wizards in the 2008 NBA Playoffs, it hit me.
It's no longer a sport I'm watching.
There is a serious problem, that we, as sports fans, must address.
It's not just in the professional ranks, either.
It's little league parents screaming and cussing because they're child got pulled, or college athletes being recruited illegally, boosters giving teenagers more money than they've probably seen in their entire lifetime.
It's a problem that has gotten so big, it's reached all sports in all levels.
And being the avid sports fan that I am, it's making me sick.
Now, don't get me wrong, by no means am I implying or insinuating that athletes of all kinds are scum, far from it actually. The problem is you have to dig through all of the lieing and coniving to find these guys doing the right thing, day in and day out.
What I do see, however, is Chris Henry, Pacman Jones, Mike Tyson, Darryl Strawberry and other delinquents in sport. The list could go on for days.
I see professional athletes, who at a very young age, are handed the keys to the world.
I turn on SportsCenter, and I see recruiting scandals, steroids in sports, athletes getting arrested, affairs, tax evasion, and just about everything else imaginable.
I turn on ESPN News, and I see Roger Clemens, a baseball icon, being accused of using illegal, performance-enhancing drugs, and lying under oath about the very same thing.
And here's the kicker.
Sometimes, when I'm just tired of hearing about all the negativity that is surrounding sports, and would like to catch up on things in this wonderful country we live in, I'll turn on MSNBC where I see other celebrity-screw-ups like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Is there nothing going on in the world that needs to be reported? Are there no issues that we as Americans should concern ourselves about? Is there not a looming presidential election?
You mean to tell me, the most important thing going on in the news are our celebrities?
Yet we wonder why other countries dub us vein, self-involved, lazy, and ignorant.
As Americans, our culture is reaching unparalleled levels of laziness, arrogance, and an overall level of pompousness that has extended outside of our sports world.
Now, I'm aware this is a website about sports, not about world politics, celebrities, and foreign relations.
I get it.
But it's something that has gotten so bad, any medium can, and should be used to show this growing problem.
For the sake of argument, I'll limit the rest to just sports.
Where has the sportsmanship gone? Where is the overwhelming love for these games we all played as children? Where is the passion?
I constantly hear coaches and players alike preaching team unity, unselfishness, and hard work, yet it's hard to find.
I see greed; I see players wanting to be the best, receive the ultimate sports accolades, but put forth very little to accomplish these goals.
I see race; a constant reminder of how "funny" it is to see a white guy playing basketball, how rare it is to see African Americans in front offices or in the coaching ranks, how Latin Americans and Asians are taking over baseball.
I see money; professional athletes complaining that multi-million dollar contracts don't meet fair levels of compensation for playing the game they love. Latrell Sprewell needing more money to feed his kids. Chad Johnson, Lance Briggs, Larry Johnson, Brian Urlacher, the list goes on.
Alex Rodriguez signing a 10-year, $275 million dollar contract to play baseball.
Am I alone on this? Are there others that share my same sentiment?
Are our sports not becoming punchlines for our favorite jokes?
Now, I don't mean to completely bash sports as a whole, or even imply that nothing has been done or tried to improve these areas.
But I think the solution is much easier than the problem.
No more high school athletes jumping straight to professional sports. A college degree must be ascertained before becoming a professional athlete.
Maybe that's a little extreme, but how about this. A college athlete must take one business, economics, and financial accounting class upon graduating.
Maybe then these athletes can invest, save and manage their money better.
Professional athletes don't get nine lives.
I'm all for second chances, everyone makes mistakes, myself included. It's unfair to put perfection as a fair level of expectation. Hell, my favorite athlete is Pete Rose if that doesn't say it all.
Implement a two-strike policy; you mess up once, everyone deserves a second chance. If you manage to overlook your opportunity at a second chance, you're banned from the sport.
Every professional athlete, or professional teams should be mandated by their respective league to perform a set amount of community service per season. Visit hospitals, YMCA's, children in inner cities. Make donations to the Salvation Army, Boys and Girls clubs, Habitat for Humanities. Be leaders in your local communities.
Every time a player signs a new contract, a small percentage should be donated to the team's designated charity.
Every owner should take a small portion of their yearly earnings and do the same.
Every training camp or preseason, athletes should be required to attend a free autograph session.
Then there's steroids. Commissioners, general managers, and even our American government can't figure out the solution.
I have it; ban any player, all-star or career minor leaguer, if ever caught using steroids, HGH, or any performance-enhancing substance. Implement a zero-tolerance policy. If you truly love the game you're playing, don't cheat.
I know I just preached second chances, but sometimes prior actions of others prohibit these opportunities.
Whether or not these ideas may be wise, fair or even realistic is unimportant.
What is important, is change.
We must change who we see as role models, who parents allow their children to emulate.
We must change our sports culture before our little leaguers and young athletes alike grow up thinking sportsmanship is something that is expected, not required.
We must change the way we as fans, support our respective teams for drafting or signing players that can't obey the law.
We must change.
Now I know this wasn't the most thought-through, well written article ever published on this website. But I hope my message outweighs my journalistic talents.
I don't mean to preach from a pedestal, or cast an ugly, greedy net around athletes who abide the law, are solid role models, and make a difference in their community.
I just hope people read what I say, and at least think. Think about who your "favorite athletes" are, who you view as role models, and what your favorite sport(s) has turned into.
The sports we all know and love are wonderful, they are pure (at times), simplistic, and iconic in our culture.
We must change to keep it that way.
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5 months ago
Bro , I liked the article but its not sports! Its just life and the people who live in it. They make mistakes and it sucks that you,me, everyone on the other end is criticizing them from making mistakes. However, I did like your piece!
Peace man!
5 months ago
I just don't get it. What's the point here? Is it that sports is evil? Is it that it contains a few screw-ups?
I have no idea what your point is here.
In my opinion, sports is like family. It was great when you were a kid and you had a brother or cousin to play with, but you're all grown up now, so you need to deal with some grown up shit.
Uncle Jimmy's got a bit of a drinking problem, cousin Rob married a complete bitch that's off her rocker, and your brother might be eating himself into an early grave.
So there are screw-ups.
You try to fix the things you can (see also, steroids), but you're not all that good at it (see also, baseball and steroids) and it's not that much fun to deal with. Mostly, however, you buck up and enjoy the good times when they're there and lament the fact that not all the times will be good. That's sports and that's life. It's also the reason why sports is so great. You KNOW the good times, because it stunk in between.
5 months ago
I agree with Ben and to a further extent the idea of stopping people from going pro from high school is ludicrous to me unless its for anything other than preserving the quality of the pro game. No one is complaining about 16 year olds on the WTA or 18 year olds in the MLS draft. Baseball, Basketball and Football are what Americans love and thus they come under intense scrutiny because fans want to be as close as possible to their teams.
As far as autograph sessions and public relations I don't think you realize how many autographs athletes sign. No one talks about the good times such as the meet the team sessions that occur on just about every college campus. No one talks about the fan appreciation days that every major professional sport has. All we hear about is some yahoo's horror story about how he waited five hours to get an autograph after a game for his kid.
Sportsmanship is everywhere, its pervasive in all levels of sports. Players helping each other up, athletes hugging after a battle on the field, mutual respect for your opponents. Money hasn't changed the fact that athletes love the games they play and check their charity records if you think they're selfish. Athletes donate, a lot. They establish their own charities, champion for their own causes and help communities more than any average citizen does.
Your problem with their money and calling them over paid is ludicrous, you're looking at their number compared to average joes. Look at their numbers compared to other people who drive multi-billion dollar industries, its either less or right in line with them.
Don't denegrate sports, enjoy the experience. If it makes you too sick to watch then change the channel.
5 months ago
Look man, while I see where u are coming from. Your article reflects more jealousy and envy, rather than deep concern. Why do we watch sports? because it's compelling, its filled with drama, disappointments, success stories and mesmerizing highlights. Sports is unscripted or real-life drama. And that's what makes it more compelling than those TV shows.
As for your mandating commuting service? that's kinda overreaching since almost every athletes do community service, you just dont hear about it. As a matter of fact, all sports franchises do charity work and community service with their players.
AND WHAT'S WRONG WITH the Wizards=Cavaliers series?? It is a rivalry, and I happen to enjoy because the series would have been boring without it as I dont find Lebron's game exciting.
YOur article Screams Jealousy, Envy and hate that athletes have what you don't! TO make urself feel better, you'd like them to do things which your small mind deems good or generous, which is Narrow minded. They are people like You too, nobody's perfect.
5 months ago
First of all, I don't see where the jealousy comments are coming from, I played basketball, baseball and football all the way up to high school, and at no point did I think it would go further than that. So if it's the sports itself, you're alll wrong. If it's money, yes, of course I'd like to be a multi-millionare, who wouldn't. And if I even said multiple times, I'm not saying that all sports are bad, or that all the athletes are doing horrible things.
"Now, don't get me wrong. I am by no means implying or insinuating that athletes of all kinds are scum—far from it actually. The problem is that you have to dig through all of the lying and conniving to find the guys who are doing the right thing, day in and day out."
"Now, I don't mean to completely bash sports as a whole, or even imply that nothing has been done to try to improve these areas."
I think I may have mislead you all with what my point was. It's not that I don't love sports, or that they're bad. I absolutely love sports, its my ultimate passion in life.
What I am tired of, however, is little league parents screaming and cussing at their kid's coaches because they pulled their kid out of a game, or another kid made an errror, and that goes all the way up to high school, I played on a high school team where a set of parents did that kind of stuff. And I'm tired of professional athletes getting paid millions and millions of dollars for playing a game, yes, they deserve it, but don't tell me that you aren't making enough to feed your families, while I'm working 40 hours a week and going to shcool full time just to pay my bills on time.
And as far as my suggestions go, there were extreme for a reason, I even stated that they may be unrealistic. My point wasn't to implement any of those, but just to prove a point.
"Your problem with their money and calling them over paid is ludicrous, you're looking at their number compared to average joes. Look at their numbers compared to other people who drive multi-billion dollar industries, its either less or right in line with them."
Listen, if you're trying to tell me Alex Rodriguez, who at the end of his career will have earned AT LEAST HALF A BILLION DOLLARS to play baseball, isn't overpaid, you're absolutely crazy. I understand they "earn" it in a way, and if the sports generates the money to pay the athletes, then so be it. My problem isn't with the money, it's complaining AFTER you make millions of dollars.
from 5 months ago
To be fair, Latrell Sprewell DID file for bankruptcy, so maybe there was something to his claim.
All kidding aside, as an economist, I'm comfortable saying Alex Rodriguez is not overpaid. He's paid somewhere close to his marginal product as a baseball player. You might even be able to make the case that he's underpaid (if you think that the owners have been colluding to keep pay down - which you might have a decent argument there).
I have the same problems with this comment as I do the article. What's your point? Venting? Calling attention to the injustices of the sporting world?
5 months ago
Again, like I said, it's not the money they're making. If I was in the pros, I'd do everything possible to make all the money I could too, anyone arguing against that is lying. My point isn't the money, it's what they make, and then they turn around and say they're trying to support their families, Latrell Sprewell had a direct quote saying he needed more money to feed his kids. If you can't feed your kids with millions of dollars, you're just a flat-out idiot. And my point about the classes in college were that if you invest your money and make smart, sound money decisions, that generally, the first contract you sign as a pro should be more than enough to supliment the rest of your life, aside from whatever money you make off of endorsements or other business endeavors.
Listen, I know sports are a billion-dollar industry, and if the athletes are generating revenues for the owners and the sports, they deserve to be fairly compensated. At no point in time have I argued against that. I just get annoyed when they blow through the money buying a house with 22 bedrooms, 3 cars worth 80,000 dollars a piece, and everything else under the sun, and then complain because they need more money.
5 months ago
after reading everyone's comments (and thank you for commenting by the way) I've realized that some of you have made very valid points, yet all in all I think my point wasnt clearly written, which is my fault. I'm going to re-do it in a way, and write it more clearly and take more time with it, I was writing this one while I was pissed off watching sportscenter. I'll certainly keep all of your comments in mind, and I hope the next time you're reading this related article, it will become more clear as to waht I was trying to get at. Just do me one favor: when I try to point out reasonable negative aspects of sports, please dont respond by preaching every decent moment ever recorded in sports. I'm not trying to say sports as a whole, or athletes as a whole are bad and unpure. I love sports, I am involved with them every day, and there are far more great, honorable, decent athletes than the opposite, that's not what I'm arguing. But like I said, I'll re-do it, and send you all links to the new article.
5 months ago
Ben,
When and where did Sprewell file for bankruptcy?
Warrior Fan
4 months ago
I've been a Dallas Cowboys fan for over 25 years. I love that team. But I didn't want them to sign Pacman Jones. That's a serious mistake. He's bad news, and he won't be able to stay out of trouble. I also didn't want them to sign Terrell Owens, but they did.
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