Fans Complain: Pro Athlete's Enormous Salaries Unwarranted

We commonly talk (well, "gripe" is a more appropriate word in this case) about how pro athletes make way too much money.

I've been asked by a few people (friends, family, readers, acquaintances) to write a column about that very subject.

So I figured, why not just give them what they want? After all, we all agree that a million dollars is a lot of money. However, I must confess my feeling about professional athletes making too much money won't be in the tone they might desire.

You see, I made up my mind a long time ago that it doesn't bother me that they make millions.

Yes, that's right, I said "does not" bother me. Let me repeat, I could give a flying leap if they made nine trillion dollars.

Sure, it bothers me that our society's priorities are out of whack because those athletes make more money than school teachers, doctors, policemen and others who make a bigger difference in society. After all, school teachers influence the lives of kids. Doctors, policemen, and fire fighters save lives.

Sure, it doesn't seem fair that athletes get boatloads of cash to play a game - but then again, life's not fair. Like it or not, that's capitalism, folks.

I definitely agree that the athletes should appreciate what they have while they've got it good.

However, who are we to complain about their salaries?

After all, most of the people who do wouldn't be turning that money down if it were offered to them. I harken back to when former Major League pitcher Kevin Brown left the San Diego Padres after the 1998 season in which he helped them reach the World Series. He then signed a multi-million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ensuing offseason.

When the Dodgers visited the Padres for a 1999 regular season game that was on ESPN, Padres fans waved dollar bills at Brown as he and his teammates walked off the field between innings. I recall ESPN commentator Joe Morgan saying over the air words to the effect, "The funny thing is that I doubt those people would have turned down that money either."

Thank you, Joe. I couldn't have said it better myself.

My feeling is that if you ask any fan if they were offered that kind of money to do their job if they would turn it down, they would say, "no" without batting an eye. Therefore, if you say that you wouldn't turn down the money down, that makes you a flaming, blithering damn hypocrite for complaining.

There, I said it.

There are other reasons, however, why it doesn't bother me that they make millions.

For starters, it's not the athlete's fault - it's the system's fault because the system allows for them to do it.

We will do whatever the system allows us to do in any walk of life.

It's no different than if they raised the speed limit on the highway to 80 miles per hour - more people would be driving at that speed.

In addition, less than half of professional athletes make millions of dollars. It's just that we only hear about those who make millions. You never hear about the 12th man on an NBA roster who makes the league minimum and is fighting for his career to continue in the process.

Then again, it's like anything else, most people like dwelling on the negative forces instead of accentuating the positive.

I don't consider myself a "sunshine pumper," but I like the latter of the two approaches much better.