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| Should Pro Athletes Curb Their Personal Life? | |||||||||
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By John Fedko Professional athletes are paid incredible amounts of money to play games. They are pampered in every conceivable way, and they are given all the tools to keep themselves at the top of their games. There are no written rules on most pro teams restricting the private lives of their athletes. But if I were an owner of a pro team, I'd issue some rules and expect my players to abide by them. When you play for a pro team, you're supposed to be a team player. That means sacrificing for the team when the season starts. The team comes first. That's why you're paid all of that money. It's not for individual stats, or individual honors. You're paid to win. And to win, you need to be a 100% team player. That means no late nights out during the season, and avoiding any kind of situations that can get you in trouble with the law. If I was an owner, my rules would be laid out clearly. For married players, you're staying at home on weeknights and I expect you in bed before midnight, in your house, with your family – period. For single players, you hang out with the other single players on your team and you're in your homes, in bed, by midnight – period. You might say this is incredibly harsh. I say, if the players don't like it, they can get a real job, doing real work, and they can then do whatever they want to on their time. But a pro athlete has no so-called "free" time during the season. It's the team's time all season long, until the last game. That's the same team that has made that same pro athlete so rich, he'll never have to work a day in his life when his career is over. When you are a public figure, the rules are different. If you have chosen to live a life in the public eye, you better make sure you know what you're getting into. These rules apply to any profession in the public eye as far as I'm concerned. That goes for sportscasters too. I will never, ever enter a strip club or go bar-hopping into the wee hours of the night. If I violate those self-imposed rules, I would expect to be fired. That's right, fired. Because I'm paid to represent my company at all times, and if I was in charge, I would not tolerate those things from people who were representing me. I know I'm very fortunate to make a living doing what I love. Discretion when it comes to what I do with my "free" time is the price I pay for making a great living on television. Pro athletes command great amounts of money from endorsements and from playing their crafts on the field. The smart ones take the straight and narrow path and walk away from the games with riches and great memories. Those that walk on the wild side, take great gambles. I have no sympathy for them when trouble surely follows. |
By Bill Phillips You can't live your life in a bubble! Life is meant to be lived to the fullest! Does that mean taking unnecessary risks? Of course not! Should a professional athlete go skydiving at any point during his career or juggle knives for the fun of it? No. A professional athlete should however be allowed to do whatever he or she wants to, within reason. Joey Porter was shot outside of a sports bar in Denver, after attending the Colorado State/Colorado football game this weekend. Was this an unnecessary risk? I don't think so. Porter was enjoying a weekend with college friends from his Colorado State days. How could anyone know that some moron was going to start shooting outside? Porter, as the police described him, was an innocent victim. Should professional athletes have curfews? Yes and no. On a game night, yes. During the week? No. Professional athletes are adults. They also know what they need to do to have their bodies in prime working condition. If they didn't they wouldn't be in the big leagues. You can't legislate what players do with their families or friends. The Steelers' off-day is Tuesday. If on a Monday night a group of players want to go out and have dinner and watch the Monday night game, that shouldn't be a problem – even though the game won't end until after midnight. If a married player wants to take his wife out for dinner and a late movie, that won't have them back until after midnight, that shouldn't be a problem. The bottom line is as long as the athlete isn't breaking any laws and continues to perform at his or her best; they should be encouraged to enjoy their private lives to the fullest. Athletes sacrifice tremendous amounts of time and personal freedoms to become professional athletes. Shouldn't they be allowed to enjoy the fruits of their labor? I think so. Professional athletes are human beings, not robots. Because they live in the public eye they should always think twice. But just because they live in the public eye doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to enjoy their personal lives. | ||||||||
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