This has to stop. It pisses me off to no end when athletes think they can pick and choose what team they want to play for coming out of college. It's a disgrace and ruins the game. I'm surprised these athletes don't take as much heat for it as should be broughten. Manning, Francis, Kobe -- pathetic. I'm sick of it.
Yes Elway was a punk for his actions. But he was able to overcome them in the eyes of the fans and media with a stellar career. If Manning can achieve Elway-esque levels, all will be forgiven rapidly. If not, his decision will haunt him for the rest of his career.
Where in my post did I say they never amounted to anything?? And then the 2 of the 3 players I listed have had amazing careers?? It isn't about what they achieve, I just think it's bad for sports when athletes start essentially choosing where they want to play. It's ridiculous. Especially when a team as bad as the chargers have a terrible season, and after all that they can't even get the best QB in the draft because "he doesn't like San Diego. He prefers to live in NY"
yes, and I hear people say "it's their career, they should have the right to pick where to play.. you get to pick where you work etc"... the rules of the nfl have a draft.. if you dont like the way it works it's simple.. don't enter the league
I have to side with the player on this issue. The NFL/NBA and the players associations have a CBA written out. If a prospect is willing to follow the rules, then why can't he tell the team that he'll sit out for a year? If the NFL teams hates it, they should make the penalty for holdout prospects more severe. That said, I really hate it when a player does something like this. As it does take away the whole point of a draft in the first place.
I think it's great. The few players who take this position are not demanding anything. They are only expressing their desires and they are in a unique situation to do so. In all probability the Chargers made a killing in this trade... and it was the long-rumored suitor who ponied up the Big Offer not someone from out of the blue. Eli has the right to sit out, go to law school, work at the 7-11, or work in the family business if he so desires. There's almost always a way out of these entanglements in which everyone can get their way.
I just can't understand this. Great? It ruins the integrity of the game. Think back when Kobe said he'd only play for L.A. How good would the Lakers have been without him? How good would the Hornets have been with him? Would the East still be the laughing stock? It's just bad for sports, no matter who you are.
Like meh said, all these guys did was follow the rules as they were set out. Drafting a player does NOT guarantee that he will play for you, only that you have the exclusive right to negotiate a contract with that player for a season. If they choose to sit out, that's their perogative. And yes, the Chargers made out like bandits in the trade. Eli Manning isn't worth what the Giants gave up.
if you are a general manger of a pro sports team, you cant let a player, or a players family, or your own influences for that matter, determine the outcome of your decision. as a player, you are entitled to stand your ground, but you are the commodity, you arent the businessmaker. San D made the right move, they got their commodity and THEN they used it as leeway for a trade. in summary, dont let some snotnosed kid dictate what goes down. let them know who calls the shots, otherwise , let em stonewall you. sit out for a season, see if we care. see if that raises your stock. go to law school, fine with us. see how the Chargers called his bluff?
You can't force a person to work for someone they don't want to. More importantly, you can't force a person to WANT to work for someone they don't want to. Plus, it is the player that is in the position of weakness here. Not only does he not get to choose the team he wants to play for, he is at the mercy of whatever team owns the rights to him. Only baseball has no trade clauses. In basketball and football, you could play for 3 or 4 teams in a single year and not be able to do a damn thing about it.
There was an article on ESPN.com in the past few days that had Ernie Accorsi saying that if Elway had gone ahead and played for the Colts, they likely wouldn't have left Baltimore, at least not when they did. It is somewhat interesting to note how frequently a franchise moves after a player so publically refuses to play for that franchise. Elway - Baltimore Colts Steve Francis - Vancouver Grizzlies Kobe Bryant - Charlotte Hornets And the Chargers have been angling for a new stadium while not receiving all that much support from the public so far. It may well be that the team will be on the move in the not-too-distant future.
Kobe Bryant was drafted by the Hornets. He didn't want to play there and he was traded to the Lakers for Vlade Divac.
You can't force a person to work for someone they don't want to. More importantly, you can't force a person to WANT to work for someone they don't want to. But a league can say you work where we tell you, or you don't work. In the next NFL CBA, they should stipulate that a team has the rights to a drafted player for 3 or 4 years instead of just 1. Plus, it is the player that is in the position of weakness here. Not only does he not get to choose the team he wants to play for, he is at the mercy of whatever team owns the rights to him. Only baseball has no trade clauses. In basketball and football, you could play for 3 or 4 teams in a single year and not be able to do a damn thing about it. That's the tradeoff for making a couple of million dollars a year... you play where your employer tells you. (the true "employer" here is the league, not an individual team, because from a business perspective, the teams are simply subsidiaries of a larger organization. Their employees work together to generate profits for the league as a whole.)
