Bad sports, good sports: maybe jerseys should be cheaper

Posted on April 6th, 2009 by Alan Spoll

I am not one of those sports fans that complains about how much players make. With the amount of money that the teams and these leagues make, it makes perfect sense to me that the players, particularly the big stars, share in the riches that their rare skills manage to create. I am not, however, nearly as tolerant of the diva behavior that is so common these days. In team sports, there has to be at last some semblance of a team attitude from its players, in my opinion. I have mentioned before that Terrell Owens is my least favorite football player, and that is exactly why. He doesn’t cheat, doesn’t get arrested, and does not take drugs, to my knowledge. He is, however, an atrocious teammate, by all accounts. He destroys teams. This column is not, however, about Owens.

This past month, there has been a lot of news about Jay Cutler, the now-former quarterback of the Denver Broncos. Denver’s new coach, Josh McDaniels, had the nerve to consider trading for Patriots QB Matt Cassel, whom he had coached when he was in New England. The trade did not happen, and Cassel ended up in Kansas City. Cutler, though, was so offended that Denver would consider someone other than his own precious self, he immediately started making noise about wanting out of Denver. The drama swelled until Cutler was finally traded to Chicago on Thursday.

Reading the various stories and watching interviews with the major players, it repeatedly occurred to me just how childish all of this was. I don’t blame Cutler for feeling slighted, but he is a professional athlete, making millions of dollars. His ability to play has earned him that money… fair enough. But doesn’t that money, and his position as a player whose number is worn by many, many children in Colorado, give him a certain responsibility to act like an adult? Sure… he didn’t shoot anyone (or himself ), and he didn’t drive drunk and kill someone. I have not lost perspective. I just think that we give players too much of a pass on things like this.

Bad sports, continued:

2) In another awful soccer-related story far from our shores, 19 people were killed in a stampede at a World Cup qualifying match in Ivory Coast.

3) Formulating a plan to repay his debts when he is released from prison, Michael Vick still thinks someone is going to pay him ten million dollars a year to play football. A judge doesn’t think so. Someone should remind Vick that he wasn’t all that good in the first place.

Honorable Mention: Remember Todd Marinovich? The Orange County court system sure does.

Good sports:

1) A follow-up to last week’s story about Texans running back Ryan Moats: the police officer quits.

2) Former Eagle Brian Dawkins shows why Philadelphia loves him.

3) Tiger Woods shows that he has his priorities in order.

Honorable Mention: This is a personal item. My Nittany Lions won the NIT. Not the biggest achievement in college basketball, certainly, but a really nice thing for a program that has historically struggled. Their opponent, the Baylor Bears, seem to be in need of some respect (see the 5th entry below, from that evening):

Bad Sports, Good Sports appears every Monday.

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02