Greed makes the sports world go 'round - Sportscene

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), May, 1997 by Wayne M. Barrett

Soaring player salaries and pricey tickets may be the most complained about aspects of the greed game now running rampant in the world of sports, but they are by no means the only ones. When big bucks are at stake, sensibilities seem to go right out the window as everyone tries to hitch a ride on the money train.

First and foremost, there's the new construction craze that's sweeping the nation. It seems every team everywhere is demanding--and getting--a new stadium or arena. The irony is that two of the groups backing these outrageously expensive construction projects--fans and sportswriters--are playing the saps. Fans just love the idea of their hometown team moving into expensive new digs. What they don't seem to realize is that they're getting soaked both coming and going.

Many of these multi-multi-million-dollar projects amount to nothing more than welfare for the rich. State government bureaucrats and their pals at city hall are only too happy to dole out taxpayer subsidies to the fat-cat club owners just so a perfectly good venue can be replaced by a more modern structure filled with luxury boxes for the corporate big boys and sponsors. And since the owner has been so "kind" as to "supply" his fans with a new stadium, he has no other choice than to raise ticket prices. After all, he is "allowing" his customers to enjoy sporting events in the latest state-of-the-art atmosphere.

That "atmosphere," however, especially in the National Hockey League's newest arenas, is one of cold indifference. As many of the hallowed old barns are torn down and replaced with towering behemoths, much of the intimacy has been lost. In Boston's Fleet-Center (no more old Boston Garden), Bruin management happily rents binoculars to those in the "cheap seats"--how's that for a misnomer? The reasonably priced balcony seats that once hovered above the ice have been replaced with receding upper decks that more resemble a football stadium than a hockey rink (with football-like ticket prices to match). As for the sportswriters and other media members who lobbied hard in their columns and commentary that "the loyal fans of this fine city deserve a new arena"--after all, it isn't their money--they have found that the new press box, while modern and spacious and fully equipped, is located up somewhere near the hole in the ozone. Instead of being close to the pulse and energy of the game, they instead are treated to the sight of army ants in helmets who are far, far away.

Of course, some--including this columnist--would say this is just desserts for the press. When there's a contract dispute, they inevitably take the side of the player over management, decrying the owners' penurious ways. (Why not, when bloated salary payments don't come out of their pockets? Besides, they are desperate for the best players to stay in town or for the team they cover to go out and sign high-priced free agents so they don't get stuck watching a loser, which makes for a long season, lousy stories, and a reticent locker room.) Perhaps more infuriating is their penchant to say how a player "is a bargain at $3,000,000" or "underpaid at $2,000,000" or--and here's the topper--"is worth the price of admission." When was the last time a sports media type paid to see a game? Not only are they paid generously to attend sporting events (while devouring free food and drink), but many clubs provide complimentary tickets to those who cover the team, to be distributed to friends and family.

Greedy sportswriters are most derelict in their duty, though, when they engage in conflict-of-interest profiteering. For example, a beat writer who covers a particular team may get a book deal. Sounds fine so far. When the book comes out about the team, however, there are a number of scoops and off-the-record stories chronicled in its pages. Well sure, you might say, that's what makes for good reading. The trouble is, when this material was gathered, the sportswriter was being paid by his or her newspaper to cover the team for its readers. The employers and readers have been cheated. The same applies when sportswriters are paid by television stations to serve as expert commentators and give the TV audience scoops they acquired while working for a newspaper. Its readers shouldn't have to watch television to hear what they should have read in that day's paper.

Even more startling is how the sports media's insights and judgments can be so way off base. Apparently, like most everyone, they assume that every athlete and owner is taking part in the big money grab. University of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning (the son of Hall of Fame QB Archie), rewrote the Volunteer record books. He failed, however, on his primary mission--bringing a national championship to Tennessee. With another year of college eligibility remaining, Manning maintained that his quest for a national title was his first-and-foremost priority, even though he was eligible for the National Football League draft and was a sure-fire No. 1 over-all selection.