The harsh reality of the professional sport world is visible in the Denver Broncos’ administration handling of Peyton Manning’s entry and Tim Tebow’s departure: strictly business, nothing personal. It doesn’t matter that Tebow had an impressive impact on the Denver Broncos, the city of Denver, and developed a nation of Tebowmania followers. All that matters is the bottom line and apparently Peyton Manning is a better choice of reaching the bottom line – i.e., taking the Broncos to the Super Bowl.
The lesson to be learned from this transaction is that professional sports, despite their entertainment appeal, despite their role as a formidable cultural practice in this country, they are strictly a business seeking to maximize profits. Unfortunately, similar to other callous corporations, the transactions some professional sports make neglect to take into consideration the human element: fan support, players’ families, emotional and psychological well-being. None of these factors really matter in the decision making when profit is the ultimate motive. Besides, with the NFL having billionaire status, who will complain when players are treated and traded like properties on the stock exchange. These players are multi-millionaires so they should man-up and live with these harsh reality of this industry, or try another profession – right? It is hard to be sympathetic to multimillionaires and their plight when the 99%ers are squeaking out their existence in a daily grind with individuals who wish they could have traded to another universe.
Well, I guess I am a bit naïve in thinking that in the midst of this business enterprise there may be a glimpse of compassion and loyalty in professional sports, where not only a player has loyalty to a team, but a team demonstrates loyalty to players. The retirement of Hines Ward is an anomaly today in professional sports. The mere thought of a player spending his entire career (14 years) with one franchise is unimaginable. Maybe I just need to wake up and face the harsh reality about the reality of professional sports.
I was wondering about your thoughts about the unsportsmanlike and "unChristian-like" conduct of the Broncos management as opposed to Tebow's widely espoused Christian beliefs...
ReplyDeleteSportsmanship or Christian ethics are not common practices associated with professional sports or many corporations in this country. This is despite the fact that there are individuals employed in these corporations who adhere to the principles of sportsmanship and Christian ethics. Capitalism often breeds the antithesis to sportsmanship and Christian ethics.
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