NBA Lockout

A few months ago, I had a conversation with a fraternity brother about celebrities/athletes.  He felt like he worked really hard to achieve his engineering degree and athletes shouldn’t make so much more than him.  I partially agreed.  Earlier today, I saw an article in a newspaper that said, “In a time in this country when smart, talented, intelligent people are struggling to make ends meet, faced with actual problems – not fake ones in sports – they’re actually thinking of canceling the season.”  This statement and many other thoughts about professional athletes spurred me to write this blog.  Granted I’m not an professional athlete, I feel that I’m open-minded enough to think about lives & situations outside of my own.

I wonder why athletes are scrutinized so heavily.  I feel as though I already know a possible answer and therefore shouldn’t wonder, so maybe a better question is why are people so short sighted?  Athletes are scrutinized because their salaries are publicized and addressed so often by the media.  Does anyone ever think about the owners’ salaries?  No.  Why?  Because no one really even knows who “the owners” are.  They avoid media coverage and being scrutinized by the public.  I studied a book about society that talks about the perceptions we possess in America.  We perceive rich people as having earned their money and poor people as the opposite.  Apparently this only applies to the non-athlete rich.  I guess in order to be smart, talented, & intelligent you would have to possess the talent to be a professional athlete and turn down the option to make millions.

As I drive through cities and suburbs, I often find myself wondering how hard people in luxurious homes worked to earn their status in society.  I guess they would be the owners of everyday society and accurately so since they own much of the property.  What exactly does a person have to do in order to earn their status?  I figure that not every person living in an above average position is a doctor/lawyer and has paid their dues through schooling.  Does schooling determine effort & worth?  What about the person who inherited wealth & status?  Should that person then be forced to earn their worth or should they be the beneficiaries of their ancestor’s hard work and how fair is that concept?

Although I’m not a professional athlete, I feel that they work hard in order to achieve what they have achieved.  They don't shovel rocks for 8 hours a day, but they practice extensively, every aspect of their lives is criticized & examined, and they perform on a stage regularly for about the same amount of time.  Is the stress they endure and the effort they put forth really that worthless, especially in comparison to the owners of the teams they work for?  They risk their health and well being to entertain millions.  Police officers & soldiers risk their lives everyday at work, so who then should take the financial hit and who is worth the least in society?  I think from the perspective of those who dissect athletes’ worth so much, it definitely shouldn’t be the owners.  Maybe a class in economics or an economist's feedback would do me well.  Regardless, I think people should be more considerate, especially people in the media whose opinions have such great power.