COHS and the "Player Millionaires Sympathy" Fund

An article on todays FoxSports.net highlights a tongue in cheek look at the whining and entitlement that is so very glaringly evident amongst the sports stars of today. Here is the article, followed by my comment. Enjoy!

"They’re models of fitness and perseverance, but top-tier collegiate and professional athletes are still susceptible to suffering the most contagious modern-day disease in sports.

On Sunday in Philadelphia, speedy Washington receiver DeSean Jackson returned to Lincoln Financial Field to face his former team in an NFC East showdown . . . with a chip on his shoulder.

After a 81-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Kirk Cousins, Jackson seized the opportunity to taunt the team that cut him two years after signing him to a lucrative five-year deal.

Jackson's Rockettes-style celebration kicks in the end zone made it clear that he was not looking to get chummy.Jackson is but one of thousands of athletes across the sports world with a chip on his shoulder — a ubiquitous and frequently diagnosed, but little-understood condition.

DEFINITION

“Chip on his shoulder” disease (COHS) refers to an emotional disorder afflicting athletes with the feeling that he or she has been overlooked, underestimated, slighted, marginalized, unduly criticized or even underappreciated.
Doctors and researchers do not know whether environmental or genetic factors — both established causes of COHS — have triggered the recent outbreak of chips.
While thousands of athletes indeed suffer from COHS, writers, reporters and analysts misdiagnose thousands more during the course of their work.
COHS causes an array of symptoms. Each athlete experiences and displays the affliction differently. Some symptoms result in improved play. Other players with a chip may spin into a warped sense of reality and perceive slights where they do not exist, allowing the chip to drag down their performance.
Common symptoms include:

• Feeling diminished, marginalized, disrespected

• Holding a grudge

• Enhanced energy beyond what a reasonable athlete not afflicted with COHS would possess

• Increased motivation and focus

• Desire for revenge

• Anger and resentment

• Playing harder

• Sense of entitlement

• Overinflated sense of value and grandiose visions of greatness

• Scrappiness

• Desire for increased playing time or higher salary

• Feeling a need to “prove” oneself

CAUSES OF COHS

Most commonly, the COHS sufferer holds a grudge against the perpetrator(s) who caused the chip, although many athletes report simply being born with a chip on their shoulder.
The most common causes:
•  Falling in the draft beyond where player thinks a team should have selected him. An estimated 73 percent of COHS cases in the NBA occur when players get drafted lower — even a couple picks lower — than they believe or their agents advise a team will draft them.

• Getting released by a team. Particularly when the player anticipated a lucrative contract (re-negotiated or otherwise) from the team that originally drafted him.

•  Getting traded.

•  Criticisms about consistency.

•  Speculation that the player can no longer perform at a high level.

•  Being undersized. "He plays with that chip on his shoulder . . . in practice, in games," UCLA head football coach Jim Mora said of 5-foot-8 cornerback Ishmael Adams. "He's a fighter, a scrapper."

•  Getting overlooked during recruiting, or during a draft, often the result of playing at a smaller school.

•  Losing or failing to win a starting job, getting benched or demoted, falling into a back-up role.

• Not getting selected for an All-Star game

 

RISK FACTORS

Leading scientists believe that certain athletes are genetically predisposed to developing a chip. Some athletes believe they are just born that way

Some coaches actually encourage player to develop a chip on his shoulder. It follows that a person may actually have the mental faciility to cultivate a chip until it manifests in a full-blown shoulder chip.

COMPLICATIONS

The size and impact of the chip may vary, sometimes causing adverse consequences. Dangerous chip growth may pose a problem for the athlete and/or his opponents, depending on how a chip's enlargement impacts his mental composition. But doctors have yet to determine what causes abnormally large rock-sized chips.

Shoulder chips may come and go, only manifesting during certain games or competitions when facing an opponent that causes or contributed to the chip.

“I’ve seen a little article today where [Bill Belichick], I think he said he didn’t want me,” Vikings receiver and returner Cordarrelle Patterson told the Pioneer Press about the Patriots passing on him in the 2013 NFL Draft. “So that’s the kind of things that stick in the back of a player’s head. And you get out there, you just want to beat the defense up since people say things like that.”

TESTS AND DIAGNOSIS

Introspection usually works. If a player perceives a chip, it’s probably there.
Writers and analysts will let athletes and readers know if they believe a player has a chip.

TREATMENTS, COPING AND RECOVERY

Unfortunately, there is no vaccine or cure for COHS.
Keys to recovery are positive reinforcement and acceptance. Early detection can often give sufferers time to adapt and overcome.
Faux-chips misattributed to players can often be rooted out by asking the athlete if he has a chip on his shoulder, and listening to what he says.

Also, just being oneself has worked for some players.

PREVENTION

For athletes: not being so sensitive.
For writers, reporters and analysts: coming up with different words to describe the state of feeling slighted."

 

 

 

 

You know a player--who was previously undiagnosed--has a very bad case of COHS when he is making millions of dollars per year, then begins complaining to the press that he can't afford to feed his family. Poor guy; you gotta feel for him. After all, how is a player supposed to get by in life when he is making a paltry eight or ten million per year? Unfortunately, such cases of COHS rarely end up with the player receiving help for his condition. Instead, the team owners unwittingly make his COHS even worse by actually feeling sorry for the guy, and upping the total per year payout, thereby intensifying the signs and symptoms of this terrible condition. Please, help these poor athletes by donating to the COHS "Player Millionaires Sympathy" fund; or, PMS for short. Let's all band together to get these players the help they deserve. Contribute today!
Call 800-WWA-AAAH, and give generously!

Baseball and Interleague Play

I read an article today from Mike Schmidt, former Phillies great and HOF'er, who stated his position on Interleague play in Major League Baseball. He was clearly against further play stating that the "experiment should be over" as the fans are disinterested, the players are angry, and baseball is hurt by the two circuits playing games during the regular season.


My response to his article, as well as to the one respondent (thus far) who agreed...a poor response by the way. This respondent nearly echoed the words or article writer Schmidt...


"I disagree with the article. Interleague play is long overdue. I grew up in an AL city and always wished I could see the NL teams. Unfortunately, the All Star game and the playoffs (if my team made it) just didn't sate my hopes of seeing the "Senior Circuit" on a regular basis.



Now that interleague play is here, I am greatly enjoying seeing the various NL teams playing my lifelong favorite. The addition of NL teams on the schedule has actually increased my interest in baseball. I don't think interleague play hurts anyone besides the snooty baseball purists who firmly believe that any tinkering with their hallowed sport is blasphemy.


Interleague play is good for fans, good for players--a majority of whom, according to a recent poll, stated they enjoy interleague play--and good for the sport and health of Major League Baseball."

Why I Won't Watch The NBA Anymore

Well, the NBA Finals are here once again, and it is yet another year I won't be watching. Why? First, because the Lakers are in it...again...(BORING!). Second, because I don't feel that NBA stands for National Basketball Association any more. Nope. I think the more appropriate name would be the National Basket-BRAWL Association.

You see, there was a time not so long ago (i.e. pre-Detroit Pistons of the late 80's/early 90's) when the NBA maketed a game based on actual skill...not on how brutal a player can be against another before getting called for a fowl.

I know that some of you out there are going to whine and say the game has changed; blah, blah, blah. As far as I am aware, the rules are still the same; it's the enforcement of the rules that has changed.

It used to be on free throws that no player could step into the lane prior to the ball leaving the hands of the shooter. If they did, it was a lane violation--usually a team foul. In today's game, as soon the shooter begins a shooting motion of any kind, we are seeing players crowding the lane, jockeying for the best rebounding position.

How many steps are involved in a traveling violation? Well todays players would have you believe it to be at least 4 or 5 steps. In actuality, the rules stipulate two steps (while holding the ball) are legal. A third constitutes a Traveling violation.

Lastly (or at least, the last of what I'm highlighting), placing your hand/arm on an opposing player's back used to be an automatic defensive foul. In order to defend, you relied on footspeed, non-contact arm waving, and mental anticipation of what to expect of the player you were defending against. In today's basket-brawl, we see players leaning into opponents, placing whole forearms on a back, and simply pushing an offensive player around. No skill is required...just brute strength/force, and the officials not caring that fouls are being committed all over the court.

These examples are just the surface of a game that has almost entirely lost its identity as a performance of actual skill. Instead of strategy and finesse, we see pushing, shoving, throwing players to the floor, flopping, brutal elbows, slapping, whining, and the disgusting "I didn't do anything!" attitude now permeating nearly every professional sport.

The NBA admits that it has an image problem. It knows that gate receipts are down, merchandizing income is low, and owners are so hungry for a winning team that coaches are on a revolving platform as they get shuffled in and out faster than Mark Cuban can accrue fines.

(Did you know that in the 21 years Jerry Sloan has managed the Utah Jazz, there have been over 250 Head Coaching changes throughout the rest of the NBA?--an unbelieveable stat!)

Commisioner David Stern does nothing to solve the real issues that are damaging Professional Basketball. He looks at ratings, marketing, and the next big wave to further elevate the business. What would happen if actual skill was expected of players entering the league; or that the NBA employed refs that actually enforced the rules of the game; or players actually stopped whining about whatever babyish thing, and actually learned to play basket-BALL?

It would be a joy to watch the game once again. It would be fun! But I also think that the fans of today have gotten so used to the brutality of basket-BRAWL that a game of actual skill would be boring to most people. Too bad on that, because the truly great teams of years gone-by relied on skill--a concept now almost completely lost.

Duhhhhh!

A personal gripe of mine here, but when will sports interviewers start asking intelligent questions of sports figures (coaches, players, etc)? You know, questions that don't illicit a "Duh" response from the person being interviewed.

For instance, last week the University of Kentucky released its basketball coach after a few dismal seasons. A reported actually asked what his biggest regret was. The response? "That we didn't win more games."

Well DUH!!

If UK had actually won more games, the coach wouldn't be out of a job. A real no brainer.

In every sport you hear stupid questions followed by even dumber responses. In basketball you'll hear the question, "Why didn't you win tonight?" A typical response, "We just didn't make the shots."

DUH!

In football you'd hear a running back asked "What was the difference in your poor game today?" You'll hear "I just didn't run well."

DUH!

In baseball a reporter will ask a losing pitcher why he didn't win after giving up say five or six runs. The response, "I wasn't pitching well."

DUH!

My point is that sports media, so rampantly hungry for any kind of a story will go to ridiculouness in order to attempt to have something new and resfreshing for fans to read, only to regurgitate obviousness ad infinitum.

It would really be nice to read a sports interview that wasn't chock full of "Duh's." But then, maybe the untalented sports writers wouldn't be able to actually ask intelligent questions that don't have unintelligent answers.

One can only dream...

Pro Holdouts

Where, in this great land can you decide that you won't report to work; that you can tell your boss that you won't work unless he pays you more money; and that you will stay home until your demands are met?

I don't know about you, but I'd be out of a job really quick. Employers simply don't tolerate that sort of whining, insubordinate behavior from their employees. It's counterproductive, and is a tremendous detriment to the company.

There is however, one industry where this is not only allowed, but is nauseatingly common. I'm talking Professional Sports. In particular, Football. This is the one sport that outdoes all the others in a pathetic dance of money for play. Don't get me wrong here, I am all for athletes making money; but there are two things wrong here.

First, the exhorbitant salaries being paid out are ludicrous, at best. Second, these athletes (I say that as a general term only) seem only to care about money, and making more of it than the next guy.

Let's look at the first issue--salaries. Pro football players are in camp 1 month (plus a couple of weeks in the Spring), then play 16 regular season games over the course of about 4.5 months. So, they actually work about 7 months a year, aside from appearances, instructional camps (for which their usually paid), etc.

Now, say a player earns $5M (million) every year. That's a little over $700,000 per month for each month worked. That breaks down to $175,000 per week worked. That breaks down to $29,166 earned for every day of work.

Not a bad living (Duh!!!). Plus there are any endorsement deals, playoff monies, appearance fees, etc, etc, etc. Now, I know many of you will be screaming about revenue sharing, Union contracts, League advertising incomes, owner wealth, etc.

For me, what it comes down to, is a large number of pro players make more for a single day of work, than many hard-working Americans make in an entire year.

Which brings me to issue number 2...

...Athletes who demand more money.

Holdouts drive me crazy. These players want an ever increasing piece of the proverbial pie. They seem to be so caught up in their quest for money, that they forget a basic rule of working...you have to actually show up.

When a company contracts with another company for work to be performed, that company expects the second company to actually perform the work to the best results, and also expect them to fulfill the contract to its end.

With pro players, that same expectation is thrown out the window. With one, two, or even three years remaining on a contract that THEY AGREED TO, players will demand more money or they won't show up for work....And they get it!!! The owners generally cave in at some point because they want to field the best team possible which sells more seats, generates bigger ad revenues, etc.

Any parent who has endured whining from their kids will understand this point: Giving in to the whining of a child only teaches them that they will always get what they want if they whine loud enough, for long enough. Owners have a lot of whiners on their hands, and give into their cries way to much. They set this dangerous precedent years ago when free agency began to prosper. Now it's a common (and expected) practice on both sides.

I'm not saying that all professional athletes are this way. I've known a number of wonderful men who did indeed play out their contracts to the best of their abilities. They should be the ones we admire. They should be the role models for our children. But because they don't whine, or make a foolish spectacle of themselves, their incredible contributions are never mentioned or are overlooked at the very least. These are the players who should be the best rewarded, the most recognized when it comes time to sign or renew contracts.

After all, isn't a professional athletes' contract about 'play for pay?' When will the league owners collectively say "Enough!" and refuse to give into these athletes who think they deserve more money than the next guy? Let these whiners fulfill their contracts, then conduct some professional negotiations to increase their pay based on how they performed throught the duration of their contacts.

But, that is in an ideal world, where professional whiners don't really take advantage of their pushover employers and cry that they just aren't making enough money. Poor whining babies. I feel really sorry for them that they just can't make ends meet on $5M, $10M, or more a year.