Monday, March 14, 2005
Professional athletes don't like the scrutiny? Boo-hoo.....
THROWING DARTSThe Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons suggests salaries of professional athletes should not be disclosed to the public.
Among the arguments he makes against the release of salary figures are:
- It's unfair to the athletes.
- It takes focus away from a discussion of the game itself.
To the first, I say, "boo-hoo." I'm not one to trash athletes for the money they make. But I'm also not going to feel sorry for them when they undergo public scrutiny for what they make either. I know this is probably the exact kind of sentiment Simmons is trying to combat. But if players can make all that money playing a game, I really don't see any reason they can't take some heat when things aren't exactly going their way.
To the second point, I don't think it's exactly true that salary talk dominates sports talk. Player salaries become an issue when players don't play well. If Jalen Rose scores a basket to win a game, or Sundin scores five goals to win a playoff series, nobody is going to remember anything about how overpaid anyone is.
Besides, I don't know how a ban on salary disclosure would work. The public knows they get paid a lot anyhow. Whispers would spread about the actual numbers. They're probably a too common part of the sports world to get rid of. And how could you have a decent labour dispute without salary figures being a part of the fray?
I say let things be. Millionaires who play well don't have any problems to begin with, do they? Even millionaires who don't play well will somehow survive, I would imagine.
