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

[xxlt]

(04-29-2017, 11:44 AM)grampahol Wrote: I hate to bring this up, but there's quite a bit of difference between outright slavery where people and families are ripped apart at the whims of slave masters and guys getting paid multi million dollar paychecks to play a kids game.. if it were true slavery these players would have no players union representation and probably be held in bondage in chains. Guys like Adam Jones would have been lynched surrounded by a bunch of guys in goofy white hoods.. 
Now, is there an element of exploitation that goes on?  Sure, absolutely, but it's strictly voluntary. Last time I checked most slaves didn't get to drive around town in a brand new Porche and make TV commercials to sell athletic shoes and other junk..   

Interesting. Since you bring up families being ripped apart, what happens if a player lives in Texas and is drafted by a team in New York. Is he expected to leave his family because he was drafted? Interesting too, isn't it that military conscription and professional sports both hold "drafts." Of course, one is much more "selective" in whom in chooses to put in "service" and targets a particular sort of poor young man with limited options, but at the end of the day there are some similarities. You can be a "lottery" pick...

As far as representation, there are more than a few owners and more than a few fans who would be delighted to tell you and the world just how evil unions are and that it is the unions that are ruining sports. You seem to think it is a good thing that players are  not held in chains and have representation. Whether that is what you think or not, not everyone would agree with those notions.

Back to families, prior to the Curt Flood case, if a player didn't want to play for the team he was drafted by, what were his options? Again, many will tell you the era before free agency was better, when a team literally owned a player just like they owned the uniforms and equipment. Some saw the change as progress. Some fought it. I wonder why?

You do agree there is an element of exploitation. OK. I want to point out that your description of how good today's players have it with nice cars and shoes and shoe contracts is very similar to an argument made by a stunning number of people to defend slavery. They say, quite seriously, "Hey, those slave masters treated those slaves pretty well!"

Anyway, thanks for bringing up how there is quite a bit of difference. And sorry you hated doing it.