Meanwhile, as we question the character of draft picks...

[xxlt]

(04-30-2017, 09:04 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Maybe worst post of the year by the OP.

Slavery = Men and women forced to work for nothing
NFL = Men choose to work for millions

Just an idiotic comparison

Ever heard of the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? It was a best seller. It was also turned down by 100 publishers. So, getting a book published is no small feat. Getting one published about something idiotic is nearly impossible. And yet William Rhoden got 40 Million Dollar Slaves published by a division of Random House! So, your assessment not withstanding the comparison is not considered idiotic by all.

Here's what it says on Amazon about the book:

"From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built.


Provocative and controversial, Rhoden’s $40 Million Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletes’ “evolution” has merely been a journey from literal plantations—where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirrings—to today’s figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the “conveyor belt” that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where they’re cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason.

The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, today’s shackles are often the athletes’ own making."

106 reviews on Amazon and it has a 4.5 star rating. So clearly, it is just complete and utter bull crap. The Washington Post called the book, "Brilliant... a beautifully written, complex and rich narrative." Oh, and the book was a best seller.

[xxlt]

From a 2011 article:

"When NFL owners read the opposing defense, they see an obvious soft spot in the line: the free-spending, high-living ways of more than 20 percent of the league’s players.

Though a lockout has been threatened for years — and despite an apparent rise in the number of football stars safeguarding their millions — roughly 380 of the NFL's near 1,700 players still live paycheck to paycheck, according to financial experts familiar with the league.

“Therein lies the leverage these owners have to potentially use as an excuse to force the Players Association … to sneeze first,” said Reggie Wilkes, a 10-year NFL linebacker and now a financial adviser who preaches “lifestyle management” to more than 20 NFL clients. “If (union chief) DeMaurice Smith doesn’t have guys saving their money, it’s going to be difficult for them to withstand a potential lockout.”

With one of the strongest unions 1/4th of players living paycheck to paycheck w/in the last decade. Kind of interesting...

In 2016 the average NFL team was worth 2.3 billion dollars according to Forbes.

Roger Goodell is earning north of $40 million per year. No wonder he hugs those players so warmly at the draft podium.

Getting figures on expenditures for the league, "a non-profit," is tough, but their marketing budget must be astronomical. And yet they still have an image problem. Hmmm, wonder how it could be they could collect millions from the US military for patriotic displays, spend tons on marketing their brand, make billions, and still have an image problem.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

I miss negative rep sometimes.

[fredtoast]

(05-01-2017, 03:29 PM)xxlt Wrote: Ever heard of the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? It was a best seller. It was also turned down by 100 publishers. So, getting a book published is no small feat. Getting one published about something idiotic is nearly impossible. And yet William Rhoden got 40 Million Dollar Slaves published by a division of Random House! So, your assessment not withstanding the comparison is not considered idiotic by all.

Here's what it says on Amazon about the book:

"From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built.


Provocative and controversial, Rhoden’s $40 Million Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletes’ “evolution” has merely been a journey from literal plantations—where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirrings—to today’s figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the “conveyor belt” that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where they’re cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason.

The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, today’s shackles are often the athletes’ own making."

106 reviews on Amazon and it has a 4.5 star rating. So clearly, it is just complete and utter bull crap. The Washington Post called the book, "Brilliant... a beautifully written, complex and rich narrative." Oh, and the book was a best seller.

Mass appeal has zero to do with whether or not the concept is idiotic.  There have been multiple best sellers about how autism is caused by the mercury in vaccinations.  Same with Bigfoot, demonic possession, and alien abductions.  The number of copies sold does not change the fact that it is ridiculous.

Just the few lines you quoted show how silly it is.  In one line he claims the power of athletes like Michael Jordan "is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight", then he turns around and rips Michael Jordan for not using all the massive power he has.

Athletes are not "cut off from their roots".  The country boys often buy big farms and the inner city kids are thrilled to get out of there.  How many big time athletes have you heard crying about how the NFL keeps them from living in government housing like where they were raised?

It is a joke and it is sad that people can make money from such a mockery of the horrors of true slavery.

[xxlt]

(05-02-2017, 02:46 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Mass appeal has zero to do with whether or not the concept is idiotic.  There have been multiple best sellers about how autism is caused by the mercury in vaccinations.  Same with Bigfoot, demonic possession, and alien abductions.  The number of copies sold does not change the fact that it is ridiculous.

Just the few lines you quoted show how silly it is.  In one line he claims the power of athletes like Michael Jordan "is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight", then he turns around and rips Michael Jordan for not using all the massive power he has.

Athletes are not "cut off from their roots".  The country boys often buy big farms and the inner city kids are thrilled to get out of there.  How many big time athletes have you heard crying about how the NFL keeps them from living in government housing like where they were raised?

It is a joke and it is sad that people can make money from such a mockery of the horrors of true slavery.

Multiple best sellers? It is its own peculiar form of awesome the lengths you will go to argue any side of any argument.