Quote:
Originally Posted by SmootSmack
It definitely is. Even in this thread there have been people commenting on it. For a lot of people, professional athletes were handed a gift to play sports and take it totally for granted. There are many people out there who don't think it takes any effort to be a pro athlete and there are no long term repercussions, or better said, they deserve whatever repercussions there are because hey, they chose to play the game. A game we all wish we could play.
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SmootSmack - To the extent that people assert players have been handed a gift and should be grateful for it - Well, in the larger sense, they have (I could work my ass off and never ever ever have the ability to make an NFL practice squad) and they should be grateful (just as we all should be for whatever gifts/talents we have that are in no way attributable to anything we did for ourselves).
However, IMHO, that is in no way relevant to the argument that the players are entitled to whatever compensation for their skills that they can obtain. It's just business baby.
If the argument that "players are just playing a game" is really being made as to why any one should side with the owners, I would disagree heartily - these are highly skilled employees who must work hard at their craft to maintain employment. Gifted or not, the players (as a whole and a very few in particular) are massive wealth generators for their employers and have a right to be leverage that ability to maximize their earnings.
NC_Skins - Neither of those illustrations are illustrations of players are "just playing a game" and, therefore shouldn't be taken seriously. Rather, it's illustrative of the concept that "players are just employees and business owners have the right to run their own businesses as they see fit." It is simply people who side with employers rather than employees. You hate big corporations, they are always evil, and it is okay to manipulate the law to stick it to them. Two wrongs make a right as long as the second wrong is the little guy wronging a corporation/rich guy. We get it.
I know you think players
are the game, sacrosanct, irreplaceble etc. but the bottom line is that they
are just employees (incredibly talented and gifted employees, but
employees nonetheless - I doubt they could even be considered "independent contractors" under the relevant labor laws), they are
not the game (w/out the capital investment, marketing and business plan of the owners - these guys are not splitting up 9.0 Billion), and they are, ultimately, replaceable over the long term (again, did you stop rooting for the B&G when your favorite player left/retired? Didn't think so). If the owners/employers want to cut off their nose to spite their face, that makes them stupid not evil. If players want to do the same, same is true of them.
As has been said, if these two groups can't figure out how to cut 9.0 Billion w/out killing the goose that laid the golden egg, well, then f'em.