So, at the HS level, you wind up with meddling parents, coddled athletes, "win at all costs," the student-athlete as future meal ticket and the over-deification of star athletes—not an easy challenge for the "good guys" who merely view athletics as one of many mechanisms for teaching life's lessons and building character.
Although this may not fit perfectly here, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention "life in the 'hood" as an influence on young athletes.
How ironic that varsity sports can save many youngsters from the hard knocks and bad influences of the streets; while at the same time, long-time relationships and almost tribal loyalties can come back to bite a college or professional athlete in the butt.
Think of Professional Sports as a Giant "Catcher's Glove"
Pro teams catch all the unfavorable baggage that rookie athletes bring with them from HS, college and off the field. (This applies as much to spoiled rich hee-roes as it does ghetto kids hanging around in bad company).
And each professional sport must deal with these problems for both moral and selfish reasons.
There's:
(a) the integrity and marketability of each sport as a business.
(b) The financial and human investment each team makes in its young players.
(c) The need to preserve fair competition among member teams (and not allowing teams and players to gain unfair advantages—through chemical means or otherwise).
(d) The responsibility of any business organization, sports or otherwise, for the health and safety of its employees.
And (e) the moral influence of each sport on society (especially young people within the context of "learning life's lessons").
The "easy money" doesn't help any, but I believe that if a kid has his head screwed on properly from the git-go, he probably won't let all that new-found gelt go to his head.
That said—one policy implication for the NFL should be to change the way it pays its rookies so that high draft picks don't get rewarded "before they've proved anything on the field." (When money is "earned", it's more likely to be respected more and used wisely by the player whose blood, sweat and tears earned it).
What to Do, What Not to Do
From within this context, I think Roger Goodell and the leaders of other professional sports leagues are doing the best they can.
I don't think various branches of the federal government should interfere with the internal operations of these organizations because, to do so, would be to elevate their false sense of importance within our society to a point even higher than it already is.
The last thing we need is for professional sports to be politicized. Example: Arlen Spector had a sit-down yesterday with Mr. Walsh about alleged transgressions by coach Belichick and the Patriots.
Doesn't Sen. Spector have better things to occupy his time (like soaring gasoline prices)?
Seems puzzling until you consider that Sen. Spector and Comcast Cable are closely aligned, and Comcast has a major squabble with NFL Network. (Ah hah!)
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