Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: No Other Profession Would Tolerate the Drama

It's been said a hundred times: Professional athletes are babies.

Dwight Howard is just the latest in a long line of whiny, over-paid pros making a public mess of his upcoming free-agency, and I for one, am getting tired of it.

There are obvious big differences when you are trying to compare professional athletes to normal working-class citizens, but at the base of the situation there are parallels.

What kind of message is Howard sending to the kids who idolize him? He is telling them that it is okay to whine and make a public spectacle of yourself until you get your way. 

When an employer hires you on for a contracted period of time, you should honor that contract. Howard might still end up doing so, but think of how this scenario might go in a workplace environment. 

Your company hires a talented young professional who is Harvard educated and at the top of their class. You hire this individual on for a four year contract. Halfway into year two, this individual begins talking to other employees about wanting to possibly join a different company. Then, they begin blogging about their desire to leave, and even go so far as to put their wishes on YouTube. 

No company would put up with this. The employee would be let go and their contract terminated. 

I know you can't simply let a talent like Dwight Howard go because he makes his wishes public, but I bet they'd like to.

If I am a player in the Magic locker room, I'd be getting pretty irritated by now. Howard has basically said he doesn't think his teammates are good enough to win a championship. I can't imagine that locker room is a pleasant place to be these days.

I wonder what impression the rest of the world has when these things go on. The American media is giving this thing a lot of attention, and it must make us look pretty silly. I am sure there has been an example of this that I am forgetting, but I don't recall a European soccer player making a National fuss over his expiring contract. 

The bottom line is this: The professional sports in this country make so much money that the players will always be over-paid. This will undoubtedly keep these types of situations coming up again and again. LeBron's "Decision" changed the landscape of NBA basketball. Now, every superstar thinks they have the right to create and/or join a 'super-team.'

Dwight Howard is a phenomenal talent, but please Mr. Howard: Zip it already.