Why do our best players let us down once they get off the field? Why do our Lawrence Taylors and Daryl Strawberrys do drugs? Why do our Derrick Thomases get their fool asses killed by driving under the influence and speeding? Why do our Pacmans and Larry Johnsons and Ray Lewises and Vince Youngs have to get into fights/trouble at every nightclub they go to? Why are the people who are so smart and savvy on the field so stupid off it? Why does Alex Rodriguez have to play poker? Wait...What? He's in trouble for poker?? He might face a minor suspension for POKER?? He came clean on steroid use and didn't face any punishment from the league, but the guy has a high stakes poker night and he gets in trouble?? What the hell? Can he and his friends not afford it? For the love of Selig.
How many of us have been disappointed by a sports hero? Of my two favorite football players of all time, one is now a registered sex offender (Lawrence Taylor) and one is dead (Derrick Thomas). Coming out of the Steroid Era, find me a team with no players untouched by the scandal. Here's a challenge to all our professional athletes: What's say we go a damn week without one of you running someone over (Donte Stallworth), shooting someone including yourself (Plaxico Burress), sexually assaulting someone (Ben Roethlisberger), getting nailed with drugs (pick one), murdering someone (Rae Carruth, Eric Naposki), or getting YOURSELVES killed (Steve McNair, Darrent Williams, David Turner). Just one week. No one fuck up. Play your sport, go to practice, study game film, take batting practice, sight see whatever city you're visiting, go out for some nice food at a nice restaurant, meet fans, sign autographs. Stay out of trouble, put down the booze. You're famous, people watch you every week. They're going to recognize you with a Red Rider Wagon full of marijuana.
Some people would claim that it is upbringing that causes these issues. Some would say that it is the sudden rise to fame at young ages and not being able to deal with it. Does being good at sports mean not having common sense? Are they inversely related? Even an 18-year-old knows right from wrong. It doesn't matter who you are or how much you make. You might feel like you are invincible. You're playing a game for a living. You're getting paid millions. People are worshiping you. I get it. But you still know that if a woman says "no" that you should not force her into a hotel room, SUV, dark alley, etc. Be a moral human being! You may have more money than God, but you are also in a precarious position. You are usually guilty until proven...no, you're still guilty in the public eye. You are targets for blackmail because you are guilty until no, you're still guilty. Don't put yourself in the situations where you've seen others get in trouble. There are plenty of examples of what NOT to do. You probably have teammates who can tell you by experience what not to do.
What about the teams? They have invested so much time and money into these players. They've used draft choices and developed offensive and defensive schemes around these players. They've paid millions in salaries an training. The teams write legal and behavior clauses into contracts, but then don't fully enforce them. Or they are so vague that no one can enforce or understand them. The teams could help support these players moving from college to the professional level. If they were moving into any other profession, they would have guidance. They would have people to talk to and deal with and learn from and seek out for advice. In professional sports, they don't have this as much. Or, they have veteran players who are still making the same dumb choices.
Coaches and front offices make sure that players attend meetings and practices. Why not make sure that players attend counselling for both the emotional transition and the financial transition? If these players had help and guidance, then they perhaps, just perhaps, wouldn't wind up in jail, suspended, bankrupt, or, I don't know, DEAD. There is not guarantee that this would keep players from messing up. But it might just give them the tools to at least make the adjustment.
Team management must be stricter with their young players. I know that most of these players are 22-23 years old and older. They are legally adults. But they've come from bad backgrounds or they've had a lot handed to them through college programs and then into the pros. Having a strict team front office that enforces curfews and moral clauses will keep these brand new, young millionaires from making fools of themselves, more importantly from making felons of themselves. The teams must take a more active role in their players' lives. Does this violate their rights? Not if it's written into the contract. Think about the discipline of the U.S. Armed Forces. Are new recruits' (or veterans' for that matter) rights violated by strict curfew enforcement?
I have never been a sudden millionaire. I haven't gone from struggling college student from a poor background to a contracted millionaire. I am on the outside looking in and watching this behavior. I can't positively say how I'd act with newly found fame and fortune. These guys don't want to distance themselves from old friends, no matter how bad an influence they might be. But it isn't only the sudden fortune that causes these choices. Go to Google. Now, type "NFL player arrested" and see how many news stories you get. (I just got 51 pages of 490,000 results). Now, type in "Lottery winner arrested" and see how many. (I just got 13,000 results). Hmm, 2.65% as many.
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