Barry de Destrahan laid out his plans for revolutionizing football for those talented individuals between the ages of 18-22 blessed with the abilities and work ethic to make a professional athletic career in football a possiblity. Well, I've got some thoughts.
How has no one mentioned that the current system is akin to slavery or indentured servitude? Here's how I'm seeing things:
You have certain physical strengths and abilities. You are not allowed and strike out on the own and get market rate for your services. You are forced to work in a system who provides lodging, food, and only enough education to keep you on/in the field. Your work has massive financial benefits to the institution that provides you only those basic services listed above. You cannot do work on the side to better your situation. Seriously? No one sees the parallels here?
I, Paulie O'Shea, have a certain set of acquired skills that I bring to the workplace right now. I can choose where I want to work. I can choose to say, 'No, I will not work for minimum wage for your company when my talents are clearly good enough to work in a higher paced, much more remunerative environment. Good day to YOU sir, and go die in a fire.' Football players only have the choice to attend a different college/university that also provides only the basics to sustain life during your time there.
For right or wrong, most of the folks in the situation of young athletes possess no other skill set to provide for their families at that age, especially not to the degree their football talents can garner. The current establishment dictates that although you may be talented enough to play in the NFL and reap large sums of money, you cannot even consider that option. Even though there are teams that would love to sign you, nope, sorry, too bad. You must put in your time working for room and board until 'we' say you have earned the right to work for money and competetive wages.
Tell me how this is different (other than the whole actual ownership, beating, rape, murder, etc) than the slave in the field who toils away for no money, is provided with food/basic shelter all to the benefit of a master who knows that, at least for the time being, he owns you because you have no other course to take in your professional career? Even if you decide to switch schools you have to sit out a year. While there may be a well defined time frame when you can strike out on your own, it is still, for all intents and purposes, indentured servitude for 2 years.
What a crock of ***t. Let them get drafted, receive signing bonuses, create a developmental league, and use their talents to get the most and be the best that they can be.
Or not. I mean, really, I blew out my shoulder and was dead to the sports world at 18, so I don't personally care unless this helps the Iggles draft better players. Or if one of them craps out of the new system and turns to a life of crime and accepts a contract that has been taken out on the life of Andy Reid for his blatent and egregious imcompetence. (The play clock is not some Rubik's Cube of mystery that is impossible to solve YOU SIMPLETON MORON)
I'm talking to you, Maurice Clarrett. Call me!
Solid post, Paulie. I will give you indentured servitude, though not slavery. And that athlete does get an education if they so desire, so there is also an argument that the player is more of an investor (the education yields returns).
ReplyDeleteHere's what gets me. . .I don't have a problem with colleges not paying players. What I don't understand is, with the lucrative nature of football, why has nobody established a compeitor to college football? Nobody has said that it's illegal to pay players who are 18. Only the NFL has said that they won't do it. So why doesn't somebody else (or the NFL) just do it?
Because the NCAA is so entrenched as THE way to get yourself a pro contract right now. Few people are willing to risk getting nothing and being out of the game for a few years if the new league flopped. Two players risked bailing on college after their freshman year, Mike Willaims of USC and Clarett. Williams is only finally catching on 5 years later and Clarett, well, he chose another path.
ReplyDeleteThe only way to guarantee that players of a sufficient grade play in this newfangled league is with the backing of the NFL. The NCAA will never agree to it, and I doubt the NFL would would do anything that smart and corner some of the money the NCAA is monopolizing on that age bracket. It's tough to think rationally in a management role with severe Post-Concussion Syndrome.
"It's tough to think rationally in a management role with severe Post-Concussion Syndrome."
ReplyDeleteYou are going to sit there and insist to me that Matt Millen did not do a bang-up job as General Manager of the Detroit Lions? You really think that?
Wide receivers is the key to anys and alls francheyeses.
ReplyDelete