13 Impossible Standards Set for Athletes
Who does Kevin Durant think he is—teaming up with former competitors?
The life of an elite athlete is a tough one. Yes, really. Sure, many tend to make lots of money and enjoy widespread fame, but just think of the impossible standards they are also subjected to by fans and media alike.
Did Calvin Johnson's salary make up for the fact he's unsure of how many concussions he experienced over his nine-year NFL career?
Rodger Sherman of SB Nation wrote:
"Somebody will criticize players for almost any free agency decision they could make. If a player takes a deal to play on a team where they can't contend, they don't care about winning. If a player leaves a team for more money, they're greedy. If they take less money to sign on a team where they can be alongside better players, they're taking the easy way out.
"
Of course, not all fans and media members hold athletes to the following ridiculous standards, but some do.
These people are only human. Let's give 'em a break once in a while, eh?
Engage with Fans on Social Media…
1 of 13
…but don't be an attention hog.
Social media has completely changed the way athletes and fans interact. Fans can—and do—tweet directly at players, and players can share more personal moments, thoughts and feelings with their followers.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams wrote for The Cauldron, "For me, social media is way for me share who I am as a person off the field; away from the often violent, sometimes grotesque and always intense cauldron which is life in the NFL."
Meanwhile, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has been criticized for "alleged attention-seeking behavior" on social media, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
To that, Watt said, per Wilson:
"We have social media and people want to see access, they want to know what you're doing, they want day-to-day, what's going on in his life? Then every single thing you do becomes a story, whether it's a tweet, whether it's an Instagram post, whether it's a Snapchat, every single thing becomes a story so I think if people don't want to see what I'm doing they should probably stop following me.
"
Sure, Be Yourself…
2 of 13
…but only when it suits others.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was certainly a lightning rod for controversy in 2015. Not everyone appreciated his showy touchdown dances, but others did.
MLB star Bryce Harper told ESPN The Magazine's Tim Keown, "I love the way Cam goes about it. He smiles, he laughs. It's that flair. The dramatic."
And yet, when Newton showed his genuine emotion after the loss of Super Bowl 50, he faced criticism for not handling the situation the "right way."
Newton said, "I don't have to conform to what anybody wants. I am my own person," per BlackandBlueReview.com (via Kevin Patra of NFL.com).
Exhibit Undying Loyalty…
3 of 13
…to a team you didn't choose.
It can be easy to forget athletes don't often have a choice in their original professional destination (Eli Manning-like examples excluded).
It wasn't Kevin Durant's choice that he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in 2007, and it wasn't his choice when team owner Clayton Bennett moved the team to Oklahoma City a year later.
And yet, he is expected to exhibit undying loyalty to OKC? (Which he did, for years, by the way.)
ESPN's Royce Young wrote, "There's confusion in Oklahoma in the aftermath, because Durant wasn't the guy who would leave. He was the guy who talked often about love and loyalty."
When an athlete finally gets a chance, via free agency, to make his own decision, why is he or she so often criticized for it?
Pittsburgh sports attorney Jay Reisinger had it right when he tweeted, "On #Durant - why is it considered 'disloyal' to exercise free-agency rights, but acceptable for a team to trade a player w/out his consent?"
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Continue to Exhibit Undying Loyalty…
4 of 13
…even though your fans won't always return the courtesy.
Again with the loyalty thing.
When former New York Mets infielder Daniel Murphy departed for Washington Nationals in free agency, one apparent Mets fan, @laccinoJake, tweeted, "I continue to hate Daniel Murphy Who's A Traitor! He helped us last year becomes a free agent signs with the Washington Nationals TRAITOR!"
And yet. Mets fans also booed pitcher Matt Harvey off the mound after a poor outing in May (six earned runs in less than three innings).
Hopefully those were not the same fans who blasted Murphy, but still. It's a tough spot for players when some fans expect loyalty at all costs, yet others boo their own athletes.
(In fairness, some Mets fans also cheered Murphy upon his return to Citi Field as a visitor in May.)
You Make Too Much Money...
5 of 13
…even though fans create the demand that results in high salaries.
Yes, Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley is going to make an absurd $153 million over the next five years, but it's important to consider the why of it.
The NBA salary cap is increasing because of sky-high television money. Who creates the demand for TV coverage that inspires networks to pay such exorbitant rights? Hint: It's not the players.
In other sectors of society, don't unions exist to fight for the rights of workers? So it is in sports—the NBPA, MLBPA etc. fight to ensure players get a fair share of revenue they help produce. On the one hand, it certainly does seem wrong that athletes are paid millions to play games while other occupations pay far less.
But the reality is, the money is there to be had in sports because fans help create a demand by buying tickets and merchandise, watching events on TV, streaming live coverage and the like. It's going in someone's pocket. Would folks rather the players get paid pennies while the owners become even richer?
Retire Before You Decline…
6 of 13
…but not while you can still play.
Huh?
Even the question of when athletes should retire is a challenging one these days.
In November, Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz announced 2016 would be his final MLB season. And what a season it is. At the All-Star break, Papi is hitting .332/.426/.682 with 22 home runs.
Darren Hartwell of NESN wrote, "Why is a guy who can hit the ball wherever he wants retiring? If the Red Sox reach the playoffs and make any sort of postseason run, Ortiz likely will be a big reason why. If he continues to produce like this with no visible decline, why not come back for one more season (and make more money in the process)?"
Meanwhile, folks suggested former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning waited too long to retire, despite the fact that he won a Super Bowl in his final season (albeit, due mostly due a stellar defense).
Don't Ever Make a Mistake…
7 of 13
…That's it. Just never mess up.
Professional and even collegiate athletes play at a high level. They are some of the best at what they do in the entire world. And yet, they are human.
Bill Buckner had a productive, 22-year MLB career—he played for five teams and posted a .289 lifetime average. And yet, he'll always be remembered for one error he made during the 1986 World Series.
More recently, Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh led the NFL in made field goals with 34 during the 2015 regular season. He scored all nine of his team's points in their Wild Card loss to the Seattle Seahawks in January.
Yet, when he had the audacity to miss a potential game-winning kick, the Internet mocked him.
Stay out of the News, Don't Rock the Boat…
8 of 13
…but also, the media is going to hound you incessantly.
Former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was always known as that athlete who handled things the "right way."
He stayed out of the media spotlight (as much as possible in New York), didn't say controversial things, etc. And yet, even though his task was to stay out of the limelight, that media sure tried hard to put him in it.
Even in retirement, Jeter is followed by media members—most recently, TMZ finagled its way into some photos of the Captain's private wedding ceremony.
Meanwhile, his former Yankees teammate, Alex Rodriguez, has often been accused of having a perceived love of attention. In 2013, Ted Berg of For the Win wrote, "Stay out of the spotlight and enjoy all the years you've got left on the planet headache-free."
But it's not as if the media makes that easy, for any big-time athlete.
Win Every Time….
9 of 13
…or be subjected to inevitable 'what's wrong' chatter.
Certainly a title-less superstar faces outrageous pressure to get that first championship. And yet, it often also seems repeated success brings higher expectations.
With her recent Wimbledon title, Serena Williams brought her Grand Slam total to 22, tying her with Steffi Graf. Clearly, she can play.
And yet, Williams has established a track record of such dominance, any slip-up inevitably leads to questions.
Williams won three out of the four Grand Slams in 2015 but failed to defend her Australian Open or French Open titles in 2016.
In fact, she didn't win a tournament in 2016 until May (gasp!) when she took the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. And in March, Chris Chase of Fox Sports wrote a piece titled, "What's Wrong with Serena Williams?"
No one can win every game, every tournament, every match, all the time. And yet somehow, for those who win more than others, it often seems the losses get more attention than the wins.
Take a Pay Cut If It'll Help the Team…
10 of 13
…even though such a practice would not be typical elsewhere.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been lauded for his team-friendly contract, but former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was criticized (NSFW) for refusing to take a pay cut in 2013.
Bryant lamented the practice and called it "the popular thing to do," per Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas.
Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki—infamous pay-cut taker—said, "I wanted to be on a good team. I wanted to compete my last couple of years at the highest level," per MacMahon. Fair enough.
Listen, it's easy to forget athletes are employees. On what planet is it normal for people to tell other people what to do with their money, their jobs, their livelihoods?
It would be nice if folks could back off a little and allow athletes to make the right decisions for their own circumstances.
Win in a Team Game…
11 of 13
...but don't team up with the best players.
LeBron James wasn't the first athlete to team up with his competitors, but his move was one of the most memorable.
Athletes are judged, at least to a degree, by championships. Tom Brady has four Super Bowl rings, Jonathan Toews has three Stanley Cups. Those titles will always be part of their respective legacies.
And yet, it's impossible—obviously—to win team titles without solid teammates. Some are lucky enough to be drafted to a team that puts that together, but that's not always the case.
One could argue James didn't have a sufficient supporting cast during his first go-around in Cleveland. (Indeed, Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight suggested those early Cavs crews were among the worst James has had.) So he made moves to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, and they won two titles together.
Folks can judge and criticize all they want. Skip Bayless can go ahead and tweet, "Just to be clear: Michael Jordan NEVER would have left Bulls to join forces w/ other superstars." But there is an element of what James did that makes perfect sense from the perspective of pure logic.
Do Whatever It Takes to Play...
12 of 13
…pain be damned.
Sports fans love slam dunks. They love long home runs and miracle catches and high-flying excitement.
And yet, how many fans consider the punishment athletes take to provide such entertainment? Yes, it's part of their jobs, and yes, they are generally paid handsomely for it. Still, it's not always without long-term consequences.
For instance, former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson retired in March after nine NFL seasons. He later told ESPN's Michael Smith on E:60, via Des Bieler of the Washington Post, "The team doctor, the team trainers ... They're some good people. They want to see you do good. But at the same time, they work for the team. They're trying to do whatever they can to get you back on the field and make your team look good."
Johnson also said that early in his career, addictive painkillers were handed out "like candy" in NFL locker rooms.
Meanwhile, players such as Eugene Monroe who publicly advocate for the use of medical marijuana to curb pain are in the overwhelming minority.
Rings Are What Matter…
13 of 13
...but don't "sell out" to get one.
These days, there is so much talk about rings. Kobe Bryant only had five to Michael Jordan's six. LeBron James now has two with the Miami Heat and the all-important one for the Cleveland Cavaliers that was apparently needed to "cement his legacy," as suggested by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
Individuals are often judged, at least partly, by how many championships their team has won, and yet, how dare Kevin Durant make a move that he (probably) believes will increase his chances of a title? He did say from the get his free-agency choice would be a "basketball decision," did he not?
TNT's Charles Barkley said on ESPN's Mike & Mike, per Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, "We develop this thing where you keep telling these guys, 'Hey man, if you don't win a championship you're a bum.'"
But, in the same breath, he also suggested Durant is taking a shortcut to a title by joining the "gravy train" with the Golden State Warriors.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
