SportsGirl

Ok, so I am full of thoughts today and I’m feeling a little distressed. I think the sports world has gone completely mad!

It started this morning when I was listening to Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio like I always do. The stand-in hosts, since M&M were on vacation, were interviewing Larry Johnson, running back for the Kansas City Chiefs. LJ has been holding out of training camp this season so as to force the Chiefs to renegotiate his contract since he only had a year remaining on the old one. In the middle of the interview, LJ says that while trying to decide when the right time was to agree to the terms being offered (which he recently did) he was considering what would be best for himself, the team, and his teammates. This was one of those moments where I had to yell at the radio. Sorry, but I had to. Someone needed to be the voice of reason.

I’m definitely not in the camp that says athletes should take what they’re given at the first offer and be happy with it. Yes, I get a little nauseated thinking  about the money they seem to pooh-pooh because it’s more than I could dream of earning in a lifetime. But I’m an Economics major so the concept of supply and demand makes sense to me. There really is a short supply of athletes who are genuinely gifted enough to make it in the NFL and the demand by the fans for a quality product on the field dictates how large that contract gets. Owners aren’t philanthropists when it comes to their NFL endeavors; they won’t sign a guy to a Vick-esque contract without feeling reasonably certain (so sorry to you Arthur Blank) that through ticket, jersey and other paraphernalia sales they will recoup that money. So I’m fine with the contracts and I’m also fine with the notion that the NFL, like the other major sports leagues, is a business first and foremost. And I believe both parties–player and owner–are clear to treat it that way. However, (and that should be read with Steven A. Smith-type emphasis) please, Larry Johnson or any other athlete holding out of training camp, don’t tell me that you’re considering what’s “best for the team” when you make a move like that. Holding out of training camp is about one thing and one thing only–the athlete seeking what’s best for him. That could mean max money, more guaranteed money, longer years signed, etc. But it’s definitely not about what’s best for the team. Because what’s best for the team is for you to get your butt into training camp like the rest of the people who are unhappy about their contracts and work. Like you’re being paid to do…

Now, that was to be my thought for the day. Then I got to work and poked around ESPN.com for a bit and read an article stating that the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP wants Michael Vick to be allowed to return to the NFL, preferably to the Falcons. I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. As I’ve stated before I definitely am appalled by his behavior. But I’m not sure it merits him being banned from the game for the rest of his life. He’ll serve the time that the U.S. Attorney deems appropriate and that will be that. What irks me so much about the NAACP is that the leader of that chapter was suggesting that Vick is merely human and made an error in judgment and that it’s our collective responsibility to welcome him back to aid in his re-entry to productive society. Really? How about we give Vick a chance to prove that he’s genuinely contrite for what he’s done, not just for getting caught? How about we make him work 500 hours of community service at his local SPCA shelter so he can see where some of these former fighting dogs end up? Why should the fans have to decide now that we’re ready to accept him again in a positive light as a public figure? We haven’t heard much from Mike lately, just a few canned comments from his attorney about how sorry he is. But I for one want to reserve my final assessment of where I think he should land until he’s served his sentence and we see what he intends to do with his life.

Alright, so I thought that’s where my post would end until I read another column about one man’s view that the NFL Player’s Association isn’t doing enough right now to rage against the machine that is Roger Goodell.  The author states that the NFLPA has been too willing to accept the punishments Goodell is handing down in the name of the Personal Conduct policy, all for the sake of maintaining good PR with the league. He goes on to suggest that, while the Vick saga along with the Pac Man Jones ordeal aren’t popular actions to defend, it’s the PA’s responsibility to in essence reject anything the league says just for the heck of it. That accepting the league’s findings in these types of matters is too dangerous and that the PA then isn’t representing their constituency voraciously enough.

Hold on here; let me first state that I’m not a fan of the entire concept of a union. I understand in the 1800’s that the little working man didn’t have enough of a voice to feel that his interests were represented in his job. But this is 2007. With or without a union, the players have a voice, albeit maybe a slightly weaker voice individually than the collective union voice. But all of Goodell’s actions to this point have seemed reasonable and not at all like he’s trying to control every aspect of the players’ lives.  For the union to object to his rulings thus far just because that’s what unions are supposed to do seems ludicrous. The author of this article suggests that they’re setting a dangerous precedent for any future dealings with the NFL front office. I couldn’t disagree more. I think by working with the league to mete out punishments to men who frankly probably deserve  more than what they got is a great way to build some cache with the league for the times when you really need to pull out the muscle. At least you’ve shown them that you’re willing to be reasonable when a situation is so blatantly bad that it needs no discussion on proper punishment. Complaining now, on issues you actually don’t disagree on, will send the signal that the union is really more interested in stirring the pot than actually advancing the cause of the players.

So, that, dear readers, is why I was feeling in need of such assistance. I needed some clarity to get perspective on all the craziness I was apparently surrounded with today!  Hopefully tomorrow there won’t be as much to get me riled up. Sending out the SOS call two days in a row? More than I could handle…