Spring Break
No loyalty in sports
Adam Loghides
Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: Sports
Bart Starr was a Green Bay Packer. Michael Jordan was a Chicago Bull. Lou Gehrig was a New York Yankee. Those names are synonymous with their teams and will always be remembered as the faces of those franchises.
There is no loyalty in sports anymore. Every new season, no matter the sport, fans are forced to pour over rosters and re-program their brains to know all of the players on their favorite teams. The era of free agency has induced this, and it's made the players a lot of money over the years.
But is it good for the sports?
This week two running backs were released from their teams after years of service, rehabs and never-ending effort. Deuce McAllister and Fred Taylor were released from the Saints and Jaguars, respectively, because their teams wanted to save money for next season.
McAllister had just completed the third of an eight-year contract he signed in 2005. Taylor had three years remaining on his contract when he got his walking papers earlier this week.
I know they were owed millions of dollars and have been injury-prone over the course of their careers. Didn't their teams know that when they signed the contracts?
What if the Jaguars wanted Taylor back and he decided he didn't want to be there anymore? What if thought he could make more money elsewhere? Does he have the right to bolt for another team? No. The reason? He was under contract.
As far as I'm concerned, owners and general managers should be held to the same standard.
McAllister is a guy from the Louisiana area and was the face of the Saints' franchise until the arrival of Drew Brees and Reggie Bush.
Taylor has been wearing Jacksonville teal for over a decade. His stats are great (see his 4.6 yards per carry) but the Jags don't want to pay a 33-year-old running back who has been there from almost the beginning of their team's inception. He is also a Florida guy, born and raised.
The loyalty of coaches is nearly as bad as that of owners. The names Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino and Larry Brown jump to mind immediately. I'll never forget Saban's comment while coaching the Miami Dolphins, "I will not be the head coach at Alabama." It only took a few months, and millions of dollars, and that statement was complete hogwash.
There is no loyalty in sports anymore. Every new season, no matter the sport, fans are forced to pour over rosters and re-program their brains to know all of the players on their favorite teams. The era of free agency has induced this, and it's made the players a lot of money over the years.
But is it good for the sports?
This week two running backs were released from their teams after years of service, rehabs and never-ending effort. Deuce McAllister and Fred Taylor were released from the Saints and Jaguars, respectively, because their teams wanted to save money for next season.
McAllister had just completed the third of an eight-year contract he signed in 2005. Taylor had three years remaining on his contract when he got his walking papers earlier this week.
I know they were owed millions of dollars and have been injury-prone over the course of their careers. Didn't their teams know that when they signed the contracts?
What if the Jaguars wanted Taylor back and he decided he didn't want to be there anymore? What if thought he could make more money elsewhere? Does he have the right to bolt for another team? No. The reason? He was under contract.
As far as I'm concerned, owners and general managers should be held to the same standard.
McAllister is a guy from the Louisiana area and was the face of the Saints' franchise until the arrival of Drew Brees and Reggie Bush.
Taylor has been wearing Jacksonville teal for over a decade. His stats are great (see his 4.6 yards per carry) but the Jags don't want to pay a 33-year-old running back who has been there from almost the beginning of their team's inception. He is also a Florida guy, born and raised.
The loyalty of coaches is nearly as bad as that of owners. The names Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino and Larry Brown jump to mind immediately. I'll never forget Saban's comment while coaching the Miami Dolphins, "I will not be the head coach at Alabama." It only took a few months, and millions of dollars, and that statement was complete hogwash.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Bob
posted 2/18/09 @ 10:32 AM PST
I completely agree with your NFL comments, although not college football and I will come back to that later. In the NFL, a player can be cut at any time and not receive any more of his contract, however if he does much better than he has in the past, he will get ripped in the media and considered a distraction for asking for more money. (Continued…)
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