Have professional athletes lost their perspective?

The Leafs did not salute the fans by meeting at centre ice and raising their sticks in unison.

On November 20^th 2014 the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey players decided to forego their traditional post game salute to fans and just exited the ice. Many fans, reporters, and former NHL players were appalled by such a snub and took to social media everywhere to express their displeasure. As a Leafs fan myself, I was just happy they could actually complete an organized play as a team. In a way I was pleased they came together as a unit, but for the most part I shared the same discontent as many others. I understood their frustration, they thought the fans had disrespected them earlier that week by booing, chanting, and even throwing a Leafs jersey on the ice. However, it made me wonder if the players truly appreciated the significance of their actions.

Johnny Damon

The Leafs players aren’t the only professional athletes to snub their followers. New England Patriot fans stood out in the freezing cold for hours waiting for their team to come home after a Super Bowl loss, cheering as the bus arrived; only a handful of players even took the time to come over and thank them. What about the folks in Cleveland when LeBron James left them and went to Florida? Or how do you think the Red Sox fans felt when star players Johnny Damon and Jacoby Ellsbury left Boston to go to their hated rivals The New York Yankees? Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant has already warned fans not to expect any kind of hometown discounts with his upcoming contract negotiations… and the season’s not even over yet.

Professional sport’s is a business, and no one can argue with the fact that loyalty is not always the best attribute for making business decisions. At what point however, do athletes, their supporters, and the media around them lose perspective on what they considered insulting, disrespectful, and a lack of appreciation? And at what point do they lose their appreciation for just how fortunate they are to be in such a lucrative business?

Albert Pujols

In the MLB last summer, the Boston Red Sox offered pitcher Jon Lester a four year contract extension worth between $70-80M, sports analysts reported it as “insulting”. The St. Louis Cardinals offered first baseman Albert Pujols $198M over nine years; he refused it. They offered him $130M over five years, and then $210M over ten years… he turned them down. He eventually signed with the Los Angeles Angels for $254M over ten years. He said it was because of the way LA owner Arte Moreno made him feel. Although Pujols himself never said much about the Cardinals offers, his wife called them an insult and even stated she got mad at God. It’s hard to get too judgmental of the Pujols’; they’ve done a lot of humanitarian work for the St. Louis area as well as the Dominican Republic where Albert was born. But, it’s hard to believe someone who came from an area where the average income is less than $10,000 a year, that a $210M offer is an insult or God’s way of punishing him. Another Dominican born baseball player, Robinson Cano was offered a $175M seven year contract from the New York Yankees. Cano was disappointed and claimed the Yankees didn’t make much of an effort or show him enough respect. The 31 year old second baseman settled for $240M over ten years with the Seattle Mariners.

Albert Haynesworth

In the NFL, New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, in the twilight of his career, used words like devastated, heartbroken, and blatant lack of respect, when the team offered him a little less than $6M for two years. New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss forced a trade that sent him to the Minnesota Vikings after telling anyone that would listen; he felt unwanted and underappreciated… he was making over $10M at the time. The Vikings eventually put him on waivers after he openly criticized the coach and his teammates. Washington Redskins defensive end Albert Haynesworth agreed to a seven year $100M contract with a $21M signing bonus. When the Redskins went to a 3-4 defense (4 down linemen and 3 linebackers) instead of a 4-3, he brazenly voiced his displeasure. Haynesworth also skipped the off-season conditioning program and mandatory mini-camp, indicating that just because he was making a lot of money, he wasn’t for sale or a slave. He only lasted two years before the team finally had enough and suspended him for conduct detrimental to the club. It was considered one of the worst free agent signings in NFL history.

Latrell Sprewell

Earl Joseph (J R) Smith was playing basketball for the Zhejiang Chouzhou Bulls in China before signing with the New York Knicks in the NBA. The shooting guard is now making over $5M, but threatened to leave the team after he said the fans didn’t appreciate him. This was after shooting less than 32% in a playoff round loss to the Miami Heat. Of course, this is the same guy who posted on Instagram that Black Friday stemmed from slavery. Another NBA player, Latrell Sprewell, may be one of the sadder examples of lost perspective. In 2004 the Minnesota Timberwolves Guard turned down a $27.3M three year offer to extend his contract, claiming he was at risk and he had his family to think about. After having a poor season, the Timberwolves presented him with a reduced $21M three year offer. Sprewell was outraged and claimed it wasn’t even enough to feed his family. He also threatened to starve his kids until he received what he was worth, calling in heartbreaking. Sprewell was so insulted he decided to become a free agent and refused to take any less than he thought he was worth. When no one met his demands, he unexpectedly retired. Despite making more than $90M over 13 years as a pro in the NBA, he went bankrupt just five years after his departure.

Phil Kessel is Toronto’s highest paid player making $8M a year

There’s no question there are many factors as to why professional athletes make the money they do, I have no problem with that. I don’t even have a significant issue with the one’s that tried to be part of this elite group by cheating; that’s a whole discussion in itself. Where I have a problem, is when they act or state that they have been insulted or treated with disrespect, and the context they say it in. To put things in perspective, the average income in both Canada and the USA is below $50,000. The average base salary for a police officer or firefighter in Canada is under $80,000 and even less in the US. How does that compare to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the group that so arrogantly snubbed their fans in November? The average player is making over $2.5 million dollars a season, with their top player earning $8M and their captain making $7M. You’d think that would be more than enough compensation to accept criticism from their support base. Keep in mind however; they belong to the same spoiled fraternity that forced fans to miss over half an NHL season in 2012-13 while they argued their importance to the game. After all, as in any sport; without professional players presenting a quality product, the fans would not come out to watch. But when did they forget, without fans coming out to watch… there would be no need for professional players?

What do you think?