Mandingo Fighting Is Alive
“We can’t have the inmates running the prison.”
These words came from the mouth of Bob McNair, a very wealthy and very white owner of the Houston Texans football team.
I have increasingly thought of professional sports as being not much different than slave ownership. These young men, often black, are bought and paid for by a very wealthy few. When I hear words like Bob’s, I hear words that strike me as more appropriate to an era I wish was truly gone.
And I will mince no words about it. These are young men that spend their entire lives working to be on a roster, starting at a very young age. Some of them feel a desperation and hunger because this is the only way out they can visualize. Many are from the poorest parts of society. All of them will suffer in body and mind for their entire lives because of the game they play for us.
So when you watch a game, and you cheer for your favorite player (Marshawn Lynch or bust!), think deeply about the economics of what you are involved in.
Advertisers pay for your attention. You stick around to see your players play. Your players play for a check the owners are cutting them.
The owners are smart and ruthless business men. They know that the reason they can sell ads is because of the level of skill their players bring. They put massive amounts of money onto the field to bring in better and better people.
You don’t watch for the stadium. You don’t watch for the logo. You don’t watch for the commercials (well, maybe the Super Bowl). You watch for the players, and the work they are doing.
If you are the source of revenue via advertisement, and you are here to watch these players play… Then what do you think the owners own? Bob certainly thinks the contracts he has with his players makes those players owned-men, and second class citizens.
If you really love football. You deeply love your game and your team. Then you need to stand up for the players that are sitting down. You need to understand who they are as humans, and you need to support them. You don’t have to agree with them. But you do have to understand a little bit about who they are.
Anything less than that makes you a spectator at a dog fight.
These words came from the mouth of Bob McNair, a very wealthy and very white owner of the Houston Texans football team.
I have increasingly thought of professional sports as being not much different than slave ownership. These young men, often black, are bought and paid for by a very wealthy few. When I hear words like Bob’s, I hear words that strike me as more appropriate to an era I wish was truly gone.
And I will mince no words about it. These are young men that spend their entire lives working to be on a roster, starting at a very young age. Some of them feel a desperation and hunger because this is the only way out they can visualize. Many are from the poorest parts of society. All of them will suffer in body and mind for their entire lives because of the game they play for us.
So when you watch a game, and you cheer for your favorite player (Marshawn Lynch or bust!), think deeply about the economics of what you are involved in.
Advertisers pay for your attention. You stick around to see your players play. Your players play for a check the owners are cutting them.
The owners are smart and ruthless business men. They know that the reason they can sell ads is because of the level of skill their players bring. They put massive amounts of money onto the field to bring in better and better people.
You don’t watch for the stadium. You don’t watch for the logo. You don’t watch for the commercials (well, maybe the Super Bowl). You watch for the players, and the work they are doing.
If you are the source of revenue via advertisement, and you are here to watch these players play… Then what do you think the owners own? Bob certainly thinks the contracts he has with his players makes those players owned-men, and second class citizens.
If you really love football. You deeply love your game and your team. Then you need to stand up for the players that are sitting down. You need to understand who they are as humans, and you need to support them. You don’t have to agree with them. But you do have to understand a little bit about who they are.
Anything less than that makes you a spectator at a dog fight.