COLUMN: Sports overtaken by greed

We all have to endure an uncertain future. We’re never sure how events will unfold and how they will shape our lives. This uncertainty has caused many crazy events in the world of athletics.

Most people would agree having money helps take away some of the uncertainties of life, especially when it comes to paying bills and taxes and supporting families.

In professional sports, it seems as though people are taking the importance of money too far. This greed of always wanting more has caused lockouts in sports for many years, when players and owners can’t agree on pay.

We saw it in 1994 when baseball — our country’s national pastime — suddenly stopped, robbing fans of a season that probably would have saved the Expos from becoming the Nationals.

We’ve seen it before in basketball as well. Suddenly, in 1999, we were clinging to the exciting championship run of the Connecticut Huskies as the third National Basketball Association lockout ensued.

We’ve also seen it in the fast-paced physical sport of hockey. The National Hockey League’s 2004-2005 season was lost thanks to disputes about the salary cap. It is an epidemic that seemed to spread across all major sports leagues.

Greed is something that has tainted sports for decades and is evident to this day. Which is why we have the National Football League lockout of 2011. The need for money is suddenly more important than the operation of the league.

The NFL owners want their players to give up some money so operating costs do not become inflated. Some people smell a lie — the owners have not developed proof of their financial concerns.

The players want more benefits from the NFL, which namely includes health care after retirement paid for by the league. The players apparently hadn’t thought of saving the money they make to cover any future health care costs.

The NFL Players Association and the league owners seem to ignore the fact that they will lose a guaranteed high amount of money with a lockout. They continue to argue about the costs of salaries for a season that might not even be played. How will either side make money if there is no season?

The want of money has expanded out beyond the NFL. David Stern, the NBA commissioner, is already having plans for his own league. They entail cutting the salaries of players by one-third. A second lockout in thirteen years is not music to the ears of NBA fans like myself.

The same goes for the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Games will continue to be played, but it doesn’t mean money isn’t tainting the integrity of an institution that should be about everything but.

The Football Bowl Championship Series makes money and that’s why it’s still around. A playoff would be “too costly” for the NCAA.

The NCAA basketball tournament was thinking about expanding the untarnished 65-team bracket to 96 teams. Again, the NCAA is only thinking of the profit when considering to let more major conference teams in the big dance.

Thankfully, its expansion to 68 maintained the format of the tournament while merely adding extra play-in games. No harm done — for now.

It’s all about the Benjamins for the people in offices and for professional players as well.

Do they ever think about the fans? Do they ever think about the sport? I highly doubt it. They only think of how the sport will profit.

Reach columnist Gabe Mambo at [email protected].