Analysis of Broke Many professional athletes make six or more digits in a year and then go broke. The director of the movie Broke, Billy Corben, the question of how for the curious watchers. Corben interviews multiple athletes who have gone bankrupt and what they did to get there. The overall claim Corben make is most professional athletes make more money than they can handle. Corben makes a strong argument with evidence of how athletes get overwhelmed and tempted to spend. Billy Corben instantly starts the documentary with a claim of fact to strengthen his argument right off the bat. He claims the sports industry exploded between the eighties and nineties. The salary of athletes were going up faster and faster which means the amount of professional …show more content…
athletes filing for bankruptcy went up. Corben used logos within his examples to create a stronger argument. Just after two years of retirement 78% of former NFL players filed for bankruptcy. Historical evidence creates professional tone with the listeners. Corben includes this fact to prove how severe the problem of bankruptcy is among athletes. Similarly 60% of NBA players go broke after five years of retirement. Television helped immensely with the explosion of the sports industry, TV greatly increased revenue and exposure of sports. The assistance of Television is a part of logos and historical information. Corben includes quantitative evidence to strengthen his argument with logos. In 1967 the average salary for athletes was $19,000, giving the audience an idea of how popular sports became in the 80’s and 90’s. Professional sports became extremely popular equally athletes making more capital and more athletes filing for bankruptcy. Secondly Billy Corben claims many new upcoming athletes are financially illiterate, he used anecdotal evidence to justify his point. Numerous professional athletes claimed that when the money started rolling in the first thing many of them did was buy their parents luxuries such as cars and houses. Corben had athletes explain this because it is another relevant reason how athletes go broke. An athlete in Broke said, “You become a CEO before you’re ready to do the job.” This excerpt from the documentary Broke is relevant and accurate information. Rookie athletes are only in their early twenties when they enter the world of fame and sports. Most aren’t in college or finished yet, practically going into the rich life, theoretically, blind. Another piece of anecdotal evidence Corben provides was explaining to concept of ‘Fat Rope Chains’. Athletes believe if they flaunt their money by jewelry, it will prove how rich they are. Professional athletes are competitive on the field and off.
Former NFL linebacker, Leon Searcy said, “Guys competed just as hard off the field as they did on the field.” Corben includes anecdotal evidence and expert opinions to strength the idea of more money more problems. The sports industry uses meritocracy, the payment method of how well you play is how well you get paid. A large portion of athletes don’t get paid in the millions but buy like they do. Because of this spending technique many live paycheck to paycheck which is an example of expert opinion. An example of Corben using anecdotal evidence is when he included the story of Mike Tyson, Mike had multiple tigers and got sued because a man got mauled. Corben included this evidence to prove to the audience having nice, expensive things don’t always have a nice outcome. A particular athlete wrote a check to a credit card company for $108,000 for one month. With big bucks, it becomes easy to swipe the card. This anecdote strengthens Corben’s argument by giving a personal …show more content…
example. And finally using anecdotes, Corben claims that athletes trust the wrong people and are taken advantage of.
Corben used pathos within his logic. Many athletes fall into the pits of bad investments, a financial advisor stated, “One out of 30-40 investments work out.” This piece of evidence in the documentary Broke can be seen as weak due to relating to hasty generalization because 30 to 40 failed investments is a broad range. A few examples of anecdotal evidence and preposterous investments are floating plastic furniture and investing in a tomato farm. Corben gave the anecdote that an athlete loaned out money to his friends and family and he never saw any of that money. Corben incorporated this instance into the documentary because it showed how athletes were taken advantage of. Corben also included an example of quantitative evidence; between the years 1999 through 2002 42 million dollars were lost by 78 players. Including quantitative and anecdotal evidence helps reinforce Corben’s
claim. Being an athlete is not only tough in the sense of playing the game but dealing with money and the troubles that come with. Overall Corben successfully supports his claim with logos, pathos, and expert opinion, quantitative and anecdotal evidence. Being an athlete seems like the dream, but it is costly.
“The Best That Never Was” is a 30 for 30 documentaries ESPN produced about the life and career of Marcus Dupree. Almost every topic we have discussed in class this semester came together in this documentary. It had everything from racism, eligibility to ethical behavior by everyone involved in sport including agents. I will focus on these three issues in particular because I feel they have the most direct correlation between the film and classroom discussions. I will follow these up with my opinions of the movie and some of the key players.
If there’s one thing we dread in the summer more than the heat, it’s the afflicting sentiment that surrounds oneself when one is inhibited from experiencing the thrills of football for six long and gruesome months. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football is a part of many Americans’ Saturdays, but to fewer does it mean their lives. Recently coming under debate, many sporting fans and college athletes believe that players should be paid more than just tuition, room, board, and books. Two articles on this issue that bring up valid points worth discussing are Paul Marx’ “Athlete’s New Day” and Warren Hartenstine’s “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid.” From these articles I have found on the basis of logical,
Pagliarini, Robert. “Why Athletes Go Broke: The Myth of the Dumb Jock.” July 1, 2013.Web.
6) Clark, Liz. “Athletes Say They Deserve to Be Paid.” Charlotte Observer. (Charlotte, N.C.). April 3, 1994: pg. 4G. Sports. Eleanor Goldstein. Vol. 4. Boca Raton: SIRS, 1994. Art. 65.
Another argument would be capitalism with athletes and commercials, Zirin explains how sports was suppose to be pure and untouched by the outside world but have been defile by commercialism. Zirin stated "It seems only commercialism is capable of making sports safe for politics...more than anything else, I 'll argue it is corporate power and fear of a backlash from sponsors that drive the anti political attitude that we find in our sports culture and make athletes afraid to rock the boat." Commercialism involving sports athletes shows how the big corporate power have control over athletes from taking a political stands against something that impact a certain group, which limit their say on a issues but their goals is to present their product and not say a word that involve
about the pros and cons of paying college athletes, Dennis Johnson, a writer for The Sport
Ms. Jennifer Fontaine does not support the idea that athletes are overpaid. Ms. Fontaine suggests that athletes who are superior in their skills and talents associated with their respective sport should be duly compensated. Ms. Fontaine also states that the money earned by these athletes is justified because professional athletes work harder than people in almost any other profession. Last, it is her premise that the money earned by these highly talented athletes help to cover the high costs of medical treatment for serious, if not life-long, injuries such as knee, back/spinal, and head injuries.
After reading the article I now have a better understanding on different ethical issues in the sport industry from professional teams to how facilities are managed. The reading had a positive impact for the most part. The article was very interesting making me think more critically about how big the sport industry is. I now view some issues a little different because of the reading. The main thing I gained from the reading is an understanding of all the different opportunities and issues in the sports industry from the front office to facility management. With the industry being so large and continuing to grow the sky is the limit for a great career in this field.
There are things that just go together: peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and marshmallows, franks and beans, and there are other things that shouldn't, but do. In this category are millionaire athletes who declare bankruptcy. While the financial failures of these well-paid, prime-time celebs and heroes of young boys and girls everywhere may not be quite as common as a PB & J, CNN reports that "60 percent of NBA players go broke within five years of retirement....more than 75 percent of [NFL players] are broke within 2 years of leaving the league."
To most people one million dollars a lot of money, to most people one thousand dollars is a lot, but even though it is hard to believe, to some people these figures mean nothing. It is no secret that professional athletes particularly those who play soccer, golf, and race F1 cars make big bucks, but people do not realize to what extent.
The salary of professional athletes are always being debated on whether they make too much or it 's the right amount they should make. Some of the athletes do make millions and millions of dollars, but there is some that don 't. Anyways in order to make the millions first an athletes must make it to the professional level. For example in soccer only 1.4% of people actually make it to the professional level. So the rest of the people make it for other sports such as football, basketball, baseball, and others. To be considered a professional athlete you must be getting payed to play a sport. They will be playing for a league and even tournaments and get rewarded with more money if they win. Some may think an athlete
In today’s society many will argue whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. In the present time athletes are being paid phenomenally large amounts of money for their entertainment. It is my claim that all professional athletes are overpaid because they do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Society does not value entertainment enough to warrant such high salaries such as those of many professional athletes. There is no reason that these athletes should demand these tremendous amounts of money. This is why you have to put into question their reasoning for demanding such high salaries.
Football is the most obvious sport whose commercial value has been tainted by the actions of its players. While the game still attracts multimillion-pound investment from brands due to the massive media spotlight it enjoys, many are questioning the wisdom of their associations in light of a seemingly never-ending stream of negative headlines.
The consaquenses of too much money at the wrong time in the wrong place is undeniable; even in the proffessionals many athletes don't know how tp spend. As young men, still in school, still learning life, it is dangerous to throw loads of money their way. Not only that but if playing ball turns into a job it loses the fun, it loses its game and without game so many positive lessons of team work and positive motivation are lost.
For as long as I can remember, I have heard people complaining about how much money professional athletes make. They say that these athletes don't deserve to make that much money for simply playing a game. People even get angry when they hear how much professional athletes are making in new contracts.The athletes are not being paid public money. An athlete's entire career could end in a split second. Some people believe that athletes are overpaid because they are just playing a game, however the truth is professional athletes are not overpaid.