Greed in Sports

At what point in time did we lose sight of the fact that to be a professional athlete meant that you were lucky enough to earn a living playing the same childhood games almost every American grew up on? Getting paid to do so was once an honor, not a means to a guest spot on MTV's Cribs.

Much in the same way society has let greed con the average family of three into "needing" a house built for seven has it created a world of guaranteed money and athletes who think $25 million a year is a slap in the face. In a day and age where we all know someone affected by the recession, ourselves or our friends no longer able to make house payments or place an adequate meal on the dinner table, we still allow in place a system that enables athletes to hold out, to tell us that a salary 50 times greater than our own is not adequate or fair.

The average league minimum for the top three Professional sports is $375,000 a year. That means that the lowest paid player on an active roster is paid $1,041 every day of the year. How anyone can justify that this is somehow not enough is to show how far society's values have shifted.

All I ask is that we make it so a family of four can once again afford to bond over the shared power of a common interest by lowering salaries and taking away guaranteed money. It will take massive overhauls, one's that will anger the Capitalists to their core but, if the average American is being forced to keep a keen eye on their pocketbook, maybe the role models for America's youth should be made to as well.