What's Wrong With Athletes And Sports Today

[IowaFan26]

O.K. So I was looking through CBS Sportsline today and saw that LaVar Arrington is filing a grievance for supposedly 6.5 million missing from his contract. O.K., now I would be upset too if I was missing 6.5 million from my contract, but he's allready getting paid 68 Million for the next 9 years.

Now for me I find this a little disturbing, he's allready getting paid 68 Million dollars, probably more than all of us in the forum have in our bank accounts combined.

Really now, you're a pro athlete and you're filling a grievance over how much is missing from your contract supposedly.

Now let's rewind back to oh say 1950, when the players of the pro football, pro basketball, pro baseball, and pro hockey couldn't have been making more than 50,000 dollars. And before that players just played because they loved the game. Players today don't love the game as much as those guys did, and it has damaged the sport. MLB players are being accused of using steroids, NFL players are accused of handling marjuana and complaining about how their agent screwed up, NHL players are abandoning the "Hockey Code" (that's light I know), and NBA players are getting charged with rape, drug charges, and what else. And it's extending into the college level as well.

High school hoops players can jump up to the NBA and it's harming the college basketball game, which is just as strong without those players. Maurice Clarett has done the same thing to the NFL now, and high school football players who are much too underdeveloped to play in the NFL, all because Maurice Clarett isn't smart enough to get through college. I think baseball and hockey have it right with allowing high school kids in because they have a minor league system in place to handle them and let them grow, but the NBA and NFL don't have this.

I've had this stance that I wish the aspect of today's sports were the same as that of 1950's sports. Were players just wanted to play and have fun, regardless of money or popularity. Today it's more about money and endorsements than actually playing. I'd give anything to have 68 million dollars, and he's more worried about the 6.5 that's missing. It just irks me a bit.

Just my two cents.

(Actually it's more like a quarter)

[habsfannova]

Hmmm....Back to the 1950's....When NHL and MLB players were chattel to the owners, who could be let go without anything, had no rights whatsoever?

Hey, if you were screwed out of money, no matter how much, you would fight to get it back. If somebody takes 20 bucks from me, I'm gonna ask him about it and get it back.

Players make that much money becasue THEY CREATE THE INCOME. If you have 70,000 pay more then $50 each to watch an NFL game, and get millions from the TV networks, players ARE going to get a lot of money because of the income they create. It's called Capitalism.

Is it fair that they make that much and teachers don't? No. But who said capitalism was fair to what profession you are in? If you create money, then you get (Most of) the money you create.

[mac]

Lavar's just mad because he's the worst panelist on Dream Job. What does he know about being a sportcenter anchor.

seriously though 6.5 million dollars is a lot of money and if I was in the same position I think I would go after the money if I felt I had earned it.

[Fusebazell]

I guess, it may be pro sports. But, your forgetting the athletes who take pay cuts. Josh Beckett, the WORLD SERIES MVP, took a pay cut. Now,some athletes do it for the money, but others do it for the love of the sport. You can't let some bad apples spoil the bunch. Look at Luol Deng of Duke, now I know he isn't a pro athlete yet, but he will be. This kid values everything he's gotten, he considers himself lucky. He was born in Sudan, a country ravaged by war. Kids his age are out there fighting, while he is in America playing for Duke University. He sometimes cries during the national anthem, and wishes he could hear the Sudan national anthem. Man, the kid barely remembers leaving in Sudan, and yet he still cares about it. I don't know about you, but that is deep. He moved when he was 5 from Sudan to Egypt, then to England at 10. After that he moved to America and went to Blair Academy. Where he woke up at 6:00 AM every day to play basketball. Anybody else see this on Sportscenter besides me?

[See Red]

A. mac, LaVar is on Dream Job because he is a fan of the show. Essentially, he represents the fans. Tony Kornheiser was never a sportscenter anchor, how does he know anymore than LaVar? Kornheiser is on a show where he argues sports, not where he has to call highlights or read from a teleprompter all that often. I've agreed with LaVar more often than I've agreed with anyone else because he sees them as a fan and he knows what the viewers want just as much, if not more than the others.

B. I wouldn't care how much money I make... If I had $6.5 million missing, I'm going to wonder where that money is unjustly going and get that money back. $6.5 million is $6.5 million, no matter how you look at it. Bottomline, LaVar is a HUGE reason that the Redskins sellout everygame. He deserves to see as much of this money as he does.

And as far as athletes go; drugs, steroids, etc... Steroids are used just as much in olympic sports as they are in professional sports. Athletes aren't the only celebrities that use drugs, are alcoholics, or rape females. These things exist in Hollywood too.

[IowaFan26]

I'm just saying that the way games where played and the glory that is often placed with the games of 25 years ago when records wern't accused of being tarnished and players saying that 24 million is a slap in the face (Ty Law).

They have a fairly easy life, but yes there are players like Luol Deng of Duke and other players who truely do care for the sport, but it's the people who think the world still owes them something after being given a gift of athletic talent that allows them to live a somewhat sheltered life making millions of dollars and all they have to do is entertain.

And yes they do create the income I understand that. But there are players of equal talent who don't ask for an extreme amount of money who create more of that income than Lavar does.

[See Red]

Who, on Washington, is a better talent than Lavar Arrington?

Alex Rodriguez falls into the same category and he is far removed from any other problems that you say plague sports.

These players ask for this much money because they KNOW they're going to be able to get it from someone. If you had just won a Super Bowl, and you could make more than $24 mill somewhere else... why would you settle for a few million dollars less?

[IowaFan26]

I don't know who on Washington would be a better talent than Lavar Arrington but that's another thing, can't these guys see that by taking up so much of their team's cap room in most sports they remove much of a chance for teams to sign other quality players. Obviously this dosn't apply to baseball, but A-Rod's mega million contract takes up a lot of an owner's money, sure it was nice to have him on the team, but Texas struggled to get any pitching during the time of A-Rod's stay. And save for the Yankees and George Steinbrenner it's hard for teams to spend a lot of money on other players when their money is locked up in one player. I think a lot of players are more greedy than team oriented today as well. I would actually like to see the cap get lowered in some leagues so that players would be forced to take salary cuts to play. The NFL cap is like 80 million I believe, maybe cut that in half and force players to take salary cuts or they just won't get paid at all.

It's basically just the greedy and self-oriented players of today that irritate me. Randy Moss playing when he wants to, Iverson saying he'll do anything to help the team, but if it means sitting on the bench he's not interested, and TO upset that he got screwed because his agent messed up, shut up and play allready.

Players of the old would stop their careers to serve in the army, today I can only recall one player from the NFL (he was a fullback from the Arizona Cardinals, who I can't remember his name), who stopped playing to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I applaud the players who give back to the community and appreciate what they have, but to me missing 6.5 million when you allready get 68 million is a little too much. How much money does he really need, and what does he need to do with the extra 6.5 million?

[habsfannova]

Well, it ain't a perfect world.....

[jkrdevil]

Can I just correct 1 thing about a-rod, the Yankees aren't paying his entire remainder of his contract. They are only paying him 16 million dollars a year, and when you take in to account the money Soriano made the money they save from Henson going to football, and the money they don't have to pay to Boone A-rod is adding no more money to the Yankees salary.

Is A-Rod a greedy player? Yes. Did he sign for the money only? Yes. Is his Agent scum? Yes. Did the Yankees help Texas out a little bit? Yes. Did the Yankees take the enitire problem on? No, other teams could have made the same deal, the Yankees took the deal that the Sox turned down.

This isn't directly toward you statement, but i have seen that a few times on this board and wanted to clear that up. People are making it seem as if the Yankees took his entire, ridiculous contract on, which they didn't.

As far as players today being greedy, they are but if you could make that much money would you turn it down? No. If you made that much moneynand someone offered you more, would you turn it down? No. And I think players have the same passion about winning as the old players. Yes I think they do. The difference is that the players have rights now, if the players back then had the same rights the same thing would happen then as it would today. It seems as they had more passion becuase the championship winning was closer to what there salary was and thus meant they didn't have to work in the offseason. I have always heard stories of how Mickey Mantle would go up to a rookie and go, "now I have my world series money spent, don't blow it." Back then it was about money too.

The buisness of sports hasn't changed. It is just more public now.

[See Red]

The players are the ONLY reason these teams make money... So how is it logical to suggest that they lower the amount of money that actually goes back to the players? That's ridiculous.

[IowaFan26]

I just don't see how a guy like Ty Law for example can say 24 million is a slap in the face. He gets to do something he truely loves for a living, and he's upset with the amount of money he makes? Of course all of us would take that amount of money, but none of us are ever going to get offered 24 million over 4 or 5 years to run a business. Yes I too would probably take an extra 6.5 million if I thought I was owed it, but make a big deal out of it when you allready make 68 million? Do you really think he needs the extra 6.5 million, name something he's going to do with that extra 6.5 million.

And I understand that players are what get teams to make money, but who else is going to make money for the team? Of course the players are what makes money, the fans don't come to watch the grass grow.

And yes I believe that players today still care about winning, but today baseball players are more than likely willing to compromise the integrity of baseball with cheating and using steroids. I believe that players from the 1950's held more honor for their game than players from today do. It would be interesting to see what the game of today would be like if today's players had the same rights as those guys.

I'm going to stop defending myself, it's my opinion and I'm going to stand by it. I just thought I'd throw my thoughts out on the table.

[Phil]

But should NHL players be getting paid so much if most teams are losing money?

Ideally there'd be a max salary, and the rest of the money the team makes goes to some good cause. Goodness knows the owners don't need the extra income.

Athletes today are so messed up because they're given more money than they know what to do with, put on pedestals, praised like crazy when they do well, trashed when they do badly, and eventually it goes to their heads.

[Guest -*rmered*-]

Did anyone see Allan Iverson (that may not be the correct spelling) whinging about not being a starter on his team?

It's this sort of thing that turns me off basketball.

He may be the best player to ever play the game; something I doubt.

However Mr Iverson fails to understand the basic premise that all 4 major sports are team sports and no individual has ever won a game, let alone a championship on his own.

He's been injured, and the coach has made a decision, why is it he thinks he is above the coach and can take this greviance to the media?

My answer is immaturity & selfishness.

And the same goes for players in the other competitions too.

To constantly seek higher wages, to the detriment of your team (through salary cap restrictions), is simply selfish, greedy and self defeating.

I would have thought championships were of some significence, however people like Iverson seem to do everything to make it about them, not the team, nor the sport.

Yes, I believe players should get paid what they are worth, and that they are the performers putting on the show.

But who makes the money in all other businesses?

My boss makes more than me and he's semi-retired.

He comes in one day a week.

Mel Gibson will make more from 'his' movie than any of the actors in it.

Why should Ty Law make more than Robert Kraft, who puts up the money whether Law plays or doesn't.

[Phil]

Did anyone see Allan Iverson (that may not be the correct spelling) whinging about not being a starter on his team?

It's this sort of thing that turns me off basketball.

He may be the best player to ever play the game; something I doubt.

However Mr Iverson fails to understand the basic premise that all 4 major sports are team sports and no individual has ever won a game, let alone a championship on his own.

He's been injured, and the coach has made a decision, why is it he thinks he is above the coach and can take this greviance to the media?

My answer is immaturity & selfishness.

And the same goes for players in the other competitions too.

To constantly seek higher wages, to the detriment of your team (through salary cap restrictions), is simply selfish, greedy and self defeating.

I would have thought championships were of some significence, however people like Iverson seem to do everything to make it about them, not the team, nor the sport.

Yes, I believe players should get paid what they are worth, and that they are the performers putting on the show.

But who makes the money in all other businesses?

My boss makes more than me and he's semi-retired.

He comes in one day a week.

Mel Gibson will make more from 'his' movie than any of the actors in it.

Why should Ty Law make more than Robert Kraft, who puts up the money whether Law plays or doesn't.

In response to each statement (you make some very good points):

-I read about it. Shook my head in disgust.

-Don't let it. Basketball's a great sport. The NBA and it's prima donnas are what's screwed up.

-There's a guy you might've heard of who'd have something to say about that. His name's Jordy Michaels or something like that.

-He most certainly has his priorities messed up.

-Quite possibly.

-An accurate diagnosis in my opinion.

-Quite a lot of them, at the very least.

-Amazing what an objective point of view reveals, isn't it?

-You're quite right.

-Sure they should get paid what they're worth. Nobody is worth $10 million a year.

-I'm guessing you're going to tell me...

-C'est la vie I guess, but I sense a point being made...

-I'd like that kind of job.

-He should... he financed the whole thing, to the risk upon himself.

-That's why I kinda like the way golf has it worked out... you do well one week, you get paid well one week. You choke one week, your pocketbook will reflect that. I know golfers aren't starving, but at least you don't have any benchwarmers making $2.5 million per.