In recent years, the NBA and “trouble” seem to have become synonymous. In the past year alone, some of the biggest names in basketball have had run-ins with the law. To try to avoid this trouble the National Basketball Association started the NBA rookie transition program ("The problem," 2012). This training program serves to provide knowledge of what players can expect while playing in the NBA and how to balance the pressures and demands that come with their chosen career ("The problem," 2012). The program is cited as only having “modest success” and Harry Edwards, a noted sports psychologist and advisor in Oakland, California said, “I think they ought to send players to those courses every year, every season. It should be like renewing your driver’s license and driving test” ("The problem," 2012). No one disagrees that many professional athletes have problems that are not being resolved, and that reflect negatively on the whole league. NBA players are referred to as “high maintenance” by sports agents and the media. “Basketball players start getting pampered very young” says sports agent, Peter Schaffer. “Twelve and 13-year-olds are being brought to training camps, they get free shoes, they’re deemed to be special at an early age” ("The problem," 2012). The $475,000 rookie minimum is more than 10 times the starting salary for a college graduate and rookies are typically in their early 20’s ("The problem," 2012). Over the last decade, high salaries have had a variety of negative effects on NBA players including, the way the law is viewed, bankruptcy, family values, and production. Sometimes, these things ruin their career, or more accurately the way they earn a living. High salaries are affecting the way the law is viewed. Many players were arrested on criminal charges including domestic violence, spousal abuse, carrying guns, brawls with the police, possession of
In John Feinstein’s Foul Trouble, Danny, a basketball player, experiences the tough NCAA restrictions. Terell and Danny were on their way to the most elite showcase basketball camp in the country. They arrive at the camp and make their way inside. All kinds of diverse reporters and television hosts swarmed Terrell. Danny was feeling as if he does not belong there. He walked into the building and sat on the bleachers. The whole place was teeming with college coaches. Danny could not wait to start the camp games. Coach Wilcox, Danny’s father, was also very eager.
Athletes do not always get in trouble, but when they do some athletes tend to have favoritism shown to them by the law enforcement. When it comes to athletes that break the law, one major viewpoint is that some athletes tend to get special treatment when they commit crimes because they are famous, but with harsher consequences. Athletes are supposed to be role models for younger kids who look up to them, but they are getting in trouble and causing controversy for all the wrong reasons and it is affecting their careers, the athletes might not think that it is because of the favoritism that law enforcement shows them, but it is. When athletes do commit crimes law enforcement tends to be bias toward them because they are known around the world (Withers). Therefore, this causes a lot of controversy surrounding the athlete because many people believe that they do not get disciplined like they should.
In the last ten years many young and talented high school basketball players have chosen to enter the NBA draft. These 17 and 18 year olds decide to skip college, and instead they choose to take a big risk and enter the NBA, hoping to become stars and earn millions of dollars. In many cases, these youngsters’ careers are a failure because they don’t turn out as talented as they thought to be. They end up spending only a few seasons in the NBA because they are not good enough to compete at that level. Many of them have to move on to doing other things, such as playing basketball overseas, doing everyday jobs, or going back to college to earn a degree.
In the collegiate world of sports, basketball has become an increasingly recognized sport among African Americans, predominantly males. The hope of any young basketball player is that one day a scout will come and recruit them into stardom The question that presents itself as a problem to the lucky few who are chosen to go professional, is whether or not an education is more important than a million dollar shoe deal, “The NCAA's (1998) annual six-year study reported that only 33% of Black male basketball players graduated, (Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999). Individually, basketball reported the lowest graduation rate in all divisions,” (Robinson, 2004:1). Basketball players have become so idolized in the eyes of young Black male basketball athletes, that the value of education appear to be less important in the development of these young men, “According to Sailes (1997), there is an over-representation of Black males in particular sports and an under-representation in other segments of American society. He provides the example of percentages of Black males competing in the NBA (77%), NFL (65%), MLB (15%), and MLS (16%) in comparison to the fact that fewer than 2% of doctors, lawyers, architects, college professors, or business executives are Black males.”, (Robinson, 2004:1). The idea of the attainment of a professional basketball player’s salary in the NBA, without even having to go to school for the time it takes to earn a degree is very appealing to some players. Those with a wealthy, or even upper-middle class upbringing may not view material assets as a priority. In the Black community, we have theorized that money and success play a more important role than education in most households. Although these two seem to go together, one resulting from the other, this does not apply in the sports world. Our research will examine the role that the family value system plays in influencing Black vs. White male athletes to turn professional, as opposed to obtaining a college degree before turning professional.
It is becoming more and more a trend for high school and underclassmen basketball players to forgo their college eligibility to enter the NBA draft. Most professional sports have restrictions to limit mentally and physically immature players from throwing away their college education to be unsuccessful in the professional ranks. In the National Football League, NCAA football players are not allowed to declare for the pro draft unless they have been in the school’s program for at least three years. In professional baseball and hockey, although they do draft players straight from high school, they have a minor league system set up. These minor leagues allow players the time to develop and still play against an excellent level of competition. This helps their growth process so that when they get into the real big leagues, they are somewhat ready to play and be a factor.
Many NCAA basketball players who make the decision to enter the NBA are not mentally prepared to deal with the responsibilities of life in the NBA. Young players depend on others who influence them or help make bad life decisions. What the young players visualize as the reward for playing in the NBA is the big money and with that big money make many mistakes financially. In th...
A penalty flag is down for a growing number of professional athletes. Some, accused of domestic violence, others charged with assault. What has caused this sudden increase in domestic violence by professional athletes? Nothing. There has not been any increase at all. Professional athletes have been beating and abusing women for a long, long time. Years ago, a lady called 911 and said that her husband was beating her. She wanted to file a report, but then asked the dispatcher if it was going to be in the paper the next day. When the dispatcher did not reply, the woman changes her mind about the report and hangs up (Cart). The woman was Sun Bonds, wife of professional athlete, Barry Bonds. Like the wives of other famous players, she was a victim of spousal abuse. Professional athletes are praised as heroes for what they do on the playing field, but what they do off the field is NEVER mentioned. As a very disappointed sports fan, I want to draw attention to the domestic violence cases that involve athletes.
Abstract: Collegiate athletes participating in the two revenue sports (football, men's basketball) sacrifice their time, education, and risk physical harm for their respected programs. The players are controlled by a governing body (NCAA) that dictates when they can show up to work, and when they cannot show up for work. They are restricted from making any substantial financial gains outside of their sports arena. These athletes receive no compensation for their efforts, while others prosper from their abilities. The athletes participating in the two revenue sports of college athletics, football and men's basketball should be compensated for their time, dedication, and work put forth in their respected sports.
Do athletes get overpaid? Is it fair that the average NFL player gets paid 1.9 million dollars a year while the average heart surgeon gets paid 533 thousand dollars annually? I think that professional athletes don’t get paid too much. There are multiple reasons that proves that their pay is not excessive. Their careers are short, they risk their body for our entertainment, and they motivate children.
Wagering millions of dollars on a player in their early twenties that teams have no idea if they will be any good, many teams are often wrong and are stuck with a multimillion dollar investment that went sour. This makes teams take years to develop their young players, and in the meantime their record and fan attendance and support go down the tubes. This also hurts the TV networks because no one wants to see mediocre professional teams play, and then that turns around and hurts the teams and the league because the networks pay less for television rights. Money, obviously, is the reason why underclassmen leave for the NBA early. If you were twenty-two years old, and someone would pay you 90 million dollars to play a game that you love, would you drop out of college?
With all the money these athletes are being paid they are selfish with it. Players are always looking for the contract with the highest number on it. Why could that be? They want all that money to spend on themselves. They always have the newest and nicest of everything. Not only do they have the newest and nicest things they have an excess amount of everything. Instead of driving a regular car, these players will have multiple cars worth then people's houses.
In most other professions, employers have more leverage over salaries since an they can easily replace an employee. For instance, sports, agents can negotiate lucrative multimillion dollar contracts, because sports teams could risk losing a player to an opposing team or league if they fail to meet a player’s wage demands. An athlete's price tag will continue to stay high since sports franchises must compete with one another over the chance to sign players from a limited pool of professional athletes. Whether an athlete is the face of a franchise or a bench warmer, they all must possess immense talent and athletic prowess to even make it on a professional team.
Athletes in the past did not always accumulate the wealth of today’s multimillionaire athletes, albeit their immeasurable worth to wealthy sports league executives. Only a small percentage of the human population is physically and mentally capable of playing in a professional sports league, unlike most professions that have a plethora of capable employees. Professional athletes put their bodies on the lines every time they compete, with many ending their already short careers prematurely. Although many people hold resentments towards the high salaries professional athletes earn, the sports industry raises billions of dollars from consumers, which allows for athletes to earn an inflated salary. It would be unjust to take money away from the athletes, only to hand that money right back to the sports executives who depend on their extensive labor.
Imagine being a doctor and working all day and night to make just half of what an athlete makes. I believe that athletes are excruciatingly overpaid. It’s not nearly as hard as being a pristine doctor or highly educated lawyer, yet it makes more than double. A large portion of teens in America aspire to be professional athletes due to the unreasonable salary’s. Then they put all their time and energy into sports and have no future ahead, because they just aren’t good enough.
That is anything but the truth. Professional athletes face more pressure and hardship than your average person by far. Sure they sign lucrative deals, but that just makes their lives more difficult due to all of the pressures that come with not knowing what to do with all of the money they earn. Take Johnny Manziel for example. He is an extremely talented and gifted athlete, but has allowed his talents to go to waste due to erratic behavior. His NFL career is almost certainly over after the Cleveland Browns released him after he was charged with assault on his ex girlfriend. There are many other professional athletes (Too many to name) that have thrown their careers away because of drugs and simply bad decision making. This will constantly happen when you give kids who have never had much of anything everything they want by signing a