Why overpaid athletes are spoiled brats

I know you've already heard ad nauseum about the fallout from the basketbrawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons that has become the proverbial "shot heard 'round the world." Everybody's talked about it. Now, I'm going to add my five cents to this as well...

First of all, the players who got into those fistfights (and any other athlete who does the same) are really not much more than overpaid spoiled brats. You may wonder, 'Where in the hell does he get off on saying that? He must be jealous because they earn so much money!' Well, first of all, consider this: Many of these athletes are in their early to mid-20s, they don't have college degrees, they haven't lived life and they most certainly have NOT matured at all. To make matters worse, they are undisciplined folk who think they are entitled to special treatment because they have lots of money and are now celebrities in their own minds.

But, I'm not singling out the athletes for blame. Oh, no, not by a long shot. I blame the sports franchises, too. After all, they're wooing these children away from their futures with promises of big money when they are not even done with high school yet, they are enabling this sense of entitlement from an early age! The "I want to be like Mike" slogan that was touted about for a while several years ago became a common mantra among young kids on playground basketball courts. I think they should leave those kids alone and let them grow up a little first. THEN, when they've proven themselves on the college basketball court and are INVITED to play with a particular team, THEN they can start talking about contracts.

I mean, why rob them of their futures? Once they've reached their mid-30s, their athletic life is over. They're considered too old by then. Look at what happened with Steve Young, Joe Montana, Roger Craig, Ronnie Lott, Wayne Gretzky, Larry Byrd and a whole host of other athletes! And what will they do with themselves after that? Can they be productive citizens without running afoul of the law every other week?

I think the brawl highlighted this fact in a glaring way - they can't handle themselves. But, like I said earlier, I'm not singling out just the players. There's plenty of blame to pass around. Let's take a look at the fans: They really ought to get a check up from the neck up. If they don't like what they see, then they should not pay for overpriced tickets to feed this vicious cycle. Vote with your wallet! Nothing speaks louder than money..as the old adage goes, "Money talks, bull***t walks." They should prosecute those who would throw objects onto the field, court or whatever playing field/arena they are attending. That's just adding fuel to the fire.

Now, let's look at the athlete's families. Yes, I'm taking aim at them, too. They're just as culpable as the rest of this cadre I've drawn up. I feel that they are pressuring their children to become successful athletes because that is their meal ticket out of whatever situation they may be in. They pin their hopes on their kids, hoping they'll make it big in the world of sports, earn those millions and then have an easy ride through retirement. While I'm not opposed to taking care of one's own parents in their advanced years, I think that the mindset and motive behind achieving that goal is disingenuous.

Pressuring the kids to become someone big and successful, sacrificing their education in the process and allowing them to enter this big world as immature adults is a surefire recipe for disaster. Of course, Ron Artest is the current poster boy for that. Then we have others like Latrell Sprewell (for choking his coach in 1997), Kobe Bryant (who can't keep his pants on both off and on the court), and that's just in basketball. How about football? We've got plenty there, too. Look at Kenny Mixon of the Vikings? And Darrell Russel of the NFL (he's been tossed around too much to list the teams he's been on). Oh, and how about the biggie of them all - Mike Tyson (former boxer, for drunkenness, brawling, wife-beating, and other acts)? Are we getting the picture yet?

You're probably thinking, "This guy must be racist, just about all of his examples are African Americans! Well, they have good examples, too. Let's see, there's Jerry Rice, Roger Craig, Julius Irving (but he's in basketball), Ronnie Lott. And, there are other bad boys from other sports, too, like Jose Canseco (baseball), Mike Dalton (hockey), Bill Romanowski (football).

I couldn't help but watch in bewilderment at how large these sports contracts grew with passing years and the players who were wooed with those millions hadn't even proven themselves on the playing field. What also struck me was that they started getting recruited younger - a few hadn't graduated high school (because they were considered 'must have' commodities) and most never graduate from college.

It's no wonder that matters have gotten so bad in sports these days. I believe that if things are to improve, all sports needs to institute punishment instead of turning a blind eye or giving a mere slap on the wrist. And think of this: What sort of role model are these athletes providing kids? Not much of one if you ask me.

I wouldn't want my kid to grow up wanting to be like a big spoiled brat like many of the athletes in sports today.