The Holdout

If anyone wants to read an insightful article on race in America, they should read Larry Elder's article that was in our local paper yesterday. Maybe it was in several papers due to syndication, I'm not sure. It is well worth the short time it takes to read the article. I don't plan to tackle the subject of race today even though I am writing about a black man and I happen to be a white man.

Actually I had planned to do this anyway, I just wanted to give it an edge by throwing in the race card. I wanted to work sex into the message as well but it would have been too forced. But it would have helped sensationalize and grab attention; "Sexy, Racial Issues Tackled on the Football Field!"

I will, however, digress. Instead I will give my two cents on a football player and his situation.

The player is Steven Jackson, running back for the St. Louis Rams. Actually he is more of a running back for himself. The team pays him, but he is all about Steven Jackson. Mr. Jackson has a year left on his current contract; a legal form that he and his agent agreed to and signed. Now Jackson is down to the last year of the contract and is looking to cash in on his talent and ability. And who could blame him? The owners of the NFL have been notoriouslly greedy in the past and the life expectancy of an NFL running back has about the same duration as a politician's stance on any given issue. Or that of a fruit fly. Point being that is is a tough job that a person can't perform forever and no one really cares after you are beaten up and gone. Just ask poor Earl Campbell.

But to sit out untill a new, fatter contract is issued is not the right way to go about business. Holding a team and it's fanbase as hostage, which an agent calls leverage, is a sign of poor character and selfishness regardless of how you want to look at it. I do understand that this is the business side of entertainment and alot of people just dismiss it as such. But why? Why do we give some players a free pass on these issues? I know why the other players give free passes; they are part of the union and the shoe could be on the other foot someday, honor among thieves so to speak. But is that the kind of loyalty you would want? If you were dependent on someone to help perform your job and it was a job that required a resiliance and a fighting spirit, would you want that kind of a partner? Do you want someone want someone like that in the foxhole with you? Personally, I don't have time for people like that even on the old man league softball field on which I play. Committment and keeping your word isn't that much to expect, is it?

And what do we do to our children when they don't keep their end of a bargain? Do we tell them that this is just part of the business and this is just how life goes? Do we teach our kids to make decisions and stick with them, regardless of consequence? And that the consequences will help them to make better, more thought out decisions next time they are faced with a situation? Or do we tell teach them that honor, decision making, and character are only necessary while they are young; as they get older and gain intellect they can then manipulate and waver in the name of money, career, and business.

And what about the fans? Aren't we the real victims here? Isn't it difficult to feel much pity for someone angered that they are only making three or four million a year and that they are being mistreated by that wage? I for one would like to recieve some of that abuse. Not that anyone would pay much to see me as the featured back of an NFL team. But back to the fans, aren't we the real victims? In the big money battle between labor and management and the media camapaigns and politics of entetainment, isn't Joe Fan left out in the cold. Frankly, yes we are. But are we really victims? And could we make a difference in the way things are ran? I think we could if we could only get the people holding a gun to our head, making us buy jerseys and merchandise, to let up on us. If people would stop making me watch all of the games , I may take a stand. If only so many people would stop forcing me to partake in all of the football activites and fantasy leagues, I would reinforce what I teach my children by my actions, instead of by only words. But I am addicted to a product that has been marketed to the umpteeth degree. It's not my fault, "they got me hooked", and now I can't stop. When will the government step in and help me? I am merely a poor, pitiful...

I think my point has been made. And I realize that I am writing about entertainment and not life or death. But I do think there is some truth in my slight exaggeration and that we should examine the ways that we "do business" in our day to day lives. It's not as much about Steven Jackson as it about how we can ALL do things that will affect each other. It's about how we paint ourselves into an ethical corner and how things get to the point to where no one wins. on the field or off of it.