‘Everybody that Plays Frisbee Golf Smokes Weed’

 I was really hoping to avoid having any of my articles originate from social media. However, I was perusing my Facebook news feed when I came across this little beauty. The title alone was just too good to pass up. Whotv13 in Iowa reported that a police officer attempted to search a vehicle he had pulled over. After confirming that the motorist had been playing Frisbee golf he asked "why is it that everybody that plays Frisbee golf smokes weed?" The officer was attempting to find weed in the car based on this assumption.

I think we would all agree that the police officer has made a hasty generalization here, lumping all Frisbee golf players into one category. The Story reports that after the officer posed the question cited above, the motorist said "“No, it’s not everybody,” Then, that officer responds, “It’s everybody, man. You can’t tell me you never smoked weed,” This is similar to the example Prof. Young has used that all Mormons are polygamist.

As we have all learned over the last 3 weeks, there are always 2 sides to every story. Every morning, It seems like I get stopped by the same red light on my way to work. I know it doesn't happen every time but it has happened enough that it causes me to believe that it never fails, no matter what, I get stopped by it. This may be what has happened to this particular officer. For some strange reason, some or even most of those who have played Frisbee golf at that particular location have also been found to use drugs. Maybe his experience with one or two individuals has led him to believe that there is a correlation between the two. I don't know, I am of course speculating here. Whatever the case may be, it is ridiculous for the officer to make such an assumption and use that as a reason to search this individual's car. The police department has since issued an apology statement on behalf of the officer.

Feds Wonder Why Fat Girls Can’t Get Dates

On the way home from work I was listening to a the radio when I thought to myself  "my time could probably be better spent, maybe I should peruse the AM dial and see if I can find a story for my next assignment." After scanning the dial for a few minutes and hearing several news reports, I stumbled upon a radio show hosted by two guys who were talking about a report from The Washington Free Beacon. The piece was about how the National Institute of Health (NIH) was awarded almost a half a million dollar grant to perform a study as to why obese adolescent girls have a hard time getting dates. At first, I found this story to be a little silly but I was also intrigued to read about some of the findings of the study. After reading the article, I realized that the title of may have a little misleading. The article was no so much about dating as it was about the sexual behavior of obese vs. non-obese adolescent girls.







The NIH claims that overwhelming evidence proves that "obese adolescent girls engage in more sexual risk taking behaviors compared to non-obese girls." Not using a condom would be an example. The purpose for the additional funding and study is to attempt to get behind why this is. These studies have been overseen by Dr. Aletha Akers, an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Magee-Womens Research Institute. These are not the only funds she has received. Between 2011 and 2012, Akers received $359.417 to study how an adolescent’s weight affects their sexual behavior. I question the facts she was able to gain or not gain from the initial study that warranted additional government funds. The NIH claims that the reason this is beneficial to public health is because "the results could be used for sexual risk-reduction interventions and sexual negotiation skills building programs."






 I applaud Akers' argument that these studies will be able to help explain why obese adolescents may have a higher rate of sexual risk taking than non obese girls. Hopefully she will do some good with the results of the study. Especially in a world that continues to objectify women and encourage promiscuity and immorality. However, I do not think the federal government should be spending money on them. For one, this in not government's place. Two, with the national deficit sky-rocketing, I think we would be better served by not spending money on these types of studies. If this exists, what other types of things out there are being funded by federal resources and how many of them could be eliminated?

Do Professional Athletes Really "Deserve" Every Penny They Make?

Today in America a great debate exists whether or not those in seemingly unimportant professions such as professional athletes "deserve" their high salaries. There is no question that many athletes make a fortune and do it in a short period of time.

According to sportsinteraction.com, online sports betting site, and as reported on the Huffington Post, the average salary of professional athletes is far from average. For example, the average NBA salary is $5.15 million over 4.8 years totaling $24.7 million. The average for MLB athletes is $3.2 million over 5.6 years totaling $17.9 million, followed by NHL, NFL, and MLS salraries respectively.

The economic diamond-water paradox analyzes that while diamonds, or something that cannot sustain life, can be held in such high regard, water, or a necessity can be purchased cheaply. Following this model, many argue that professional athletes contribute little to society and therefore should make less than teachers, policemen, or physicians.

Professional athletes make high salaries because people with their skills are scarce. The supply and demand for people in various occupations determines the salaries in question—not the “importance” of the job to society.  Why then, do athletes make so much, is it fair and do they deserve it?

There are a handful of players in professional sports we refer to as super stars. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Alex Rodriguez just to name a few . In other words, there are some that excel over and above their peers. In most cases, these individuals make more than the average player and their salary is usually in proportion to what they contribute to the team or organization- not just in athletic ability, but monetary draw as well. Many team owners get huge returns on these players through the ticket and merchandise sales they generate.  This is not the norm. Most players are not worth their salaries and do not deserve what they make.

Some definitions to consider: The National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball have guaranteed contracts. This means, players are paid what they sign for regardless of performance or missed games due to injury. In the National Football League, there are no guaranteed contracts but the signing bonuses or an initial payment for signing a contract with the team are guaranteed. In this way, NFL players can make hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars before playing a single down. In professional sports, a salary cap is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Several sports leagues have implemented salary caps, both as a method of keeping overall costs down, and to ensure parity between teams so wealthy teams cannot entrench dominance by signing many more top players than their rivals. In the NFL, if a player is released for any reason, they do not have to pay that player the remainder of that contract. However, that money still counts against that team.

There is an epidemic that exists among many people both inside and outside of sports that high payed professional athletes have a sense of entitlement. In a recent ESPN Perspectives radio program, host Prim Siripipat, interviewed a number of people in the sports industry on the entitlement of athletes. Dr. Greg Dale, a sports psychologist at Duke University, argues that this sense of entitlement starts at a young age as athletes become popular because of their talents on the field. Dale says that this encourages their since of entitlement because greater talent equals greater tolerance. In other words, misconduct or bad grades are more likely to be overlooked if someone is popular due to their talents on the field.

This is most prevalent in collegiate sports. For many division I schools, major football, and basketball programs are the biggest money generator for each institution. Because this is the case, colleges want nothing to get in the way of this steady stream of revenue. In a recent CNN investigation, entrance exam  scores for football and basketball players from 37 public universities across the country were petitioned. 21 of the schools cooperated. Some that did not, said they would submit the records "after" football season had ended. The results proved that 10% of the athletes read at or near a 3rd grade level. One of the universities that received scrutiny was the University of North Carolina. UNC academic counselor Mary Willingham went through test scores over an 8 year period from 2004-2012. She found that 25% of athletes did not have the skills to take classes at a community college, let alone a university. She found that 8% read below a 4th grade level and 60% were between a 4th and 8th grade level. CNN also looked into the data Willingham discovered and found that many players at UNC were enrolled in classes that required little or no work. In the 1960's my father was in a class at Weber College in Ogden, Utah. The school had a great basketball team that year and ESPN was there to do a story on them. When the cameras came in the classroom where a couple of the star athletes were, before the cameras rolled, a textbook and pencil had to be placed on the desk to create the illusion that they had been there and been used before. It is hard to justify that so many individuals who obtain such little education can make so much money.

Some athletes do great things with the money they make and are mature enough to handle the fame that comes with being in the lime light. Many athletes become millionaires over night. For the average person, there are different phases to life. There are the learning years, the sacrificing years, the years where your wealth matures in your 30's or 40's as you build your nest egg, and then finally, there is  retirement. Professional sports are the complete opposite. Billy Corben, director of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary "Broke",  examines the reason so many professional athletes quickly lose their fortunes as well. Corben's film calls it the sudden wealth effect and says sports is the ultimate meritocracy. Many players come from poverty, are young, and have little or no accountability. For some, they aren't even quite sure what to do with their first paycheck as they have never had to manage a bank account of their own. This is the first time for some they are introduced to taxes. This fascinating documentary highlights many other reasons why players go broke. Players think that because they have made so much money, they are invincible. But in many cases the old adage, more money=more problems is the norm. Some see wealthy star teammates living large and want to do the same even though they make far less. For these, keeping up with the Jonses' is a real temptation. For others, opportunities to make more money are enticing to them but end up making bad decisions and have investments go bad. Often times, players become every one's best friend. Family and friends come out of the wood works asking for money or for them to invest in various things. Corben also highlighted many athletes who have gone through expensive divorces or owe extensive child support bills each month; things that do not go away after retirement.  Then, there are those who simply live beyond their means and do not plan for the future. According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article,  78% of NFL players file for bankruptcy or are in financial distress by the time they have been out of the game for 2 years. 60% of NBA players go broke by the time they have been removed from the game for 5 years. In the modern era, there have been 60 former athletes file for bankruptcy. Now what do they do? Who is going to hire them? What schooling or skills do they have? How has the money they have made been beneficial?

The NFL and NBA recognize that this epidemic exists in their sports too. They now have many programs such as rookie symposiums. The NBA even passed a rule that requires players to be 19 years old and one year out of high school before they can sign a contract.

Recently there has been much discussion about players, particularly from the NFL who have made bad decisions and their actions have been heavily scrutinized. The other side of the coin is the backlash of how the leagues have reacted with their lack of discipline of these players. In many cases, the league has not reacted until threatened by sponsors or other private groups or individuals. Dr Dale's idea from the beginning of this essay that some athletes can receive special treatment or have their wrong doings overlooked because of their talents and fame could certainly come into play here. Take Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens running back who on February 15th was arrested for simple assault for example. It has come to light that the Ravens knew about the situation for months and tried to protect him and didn't want to enforce the rules. A timeline of the events following Rice's arrest has been compiled. The ravens coach and front office immediately came to his defense and tried to sugar coat the severity of his actions and reiterated that Rice would remain the team's running back . John Harbaugh said "The two people obviously have a couple issues that they have to work through, and they're both committed to doing that. That was the main takeaway for me from the conversation. They understand their own issues. They're getting a lot of counseling and those kinds of things, so I think that's really positive. That was the main takeaway." The Ravens' owner promised that the running back would "definitely be back." Then Rice was indicted on third degree aggravated assault charges. A charge that can carry a maximum of 5 years in prison. He then turned down a plea deal that would have spared the running back jail time in exchange for completing probation and undergoing anger management. Instead, he pleaded not guilty and applied for a program for first-time offenders that could clear him of charges in as little as six months. The program would require Rice to stay out of trouble and attend regular counseling. Prosecutors allowed Rice to be admitted into the program, a program that ESPN Outside the Lines reports that was granted to less than one percent of all domestic violence cases in New Jersey between 2010-2013 and is usually reserved for those that commit crimes that do not include violence. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell then suspended Rice for 2 games. The Ravens held a press conference only after further review of more evidence that had come to light. Due to overwhelming pressure put on them, the NFL came out with a new and harsher domestic abuse policy and Rice's punishment was increased. Rice was eventually released by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL. I acknowledge that everyone deserves due process but the evidence clearly shows that the Ravens tried to protect their investment and keep him on the field. Would a lesser-known player have received the same treatment?

It has not just been Ray Rice. Other NFL players have also been in trouble off the field with domestic violence issues lately. These names include Greg Hardy, Jonathan Dwyre, and  Ray McDonald. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted on child abuse charges. Hardy and Peterson were placed on what is called the Exempt/ Commissioners Permission List.   This is list not often used by the NFL and is not always viewed as a disciplinary measure. Although after being placed on this list, you cannot attend any team activities, it does not count against your contract (years) for the time you spend on it. Oh, and did I mention you still get paid while on this list? Jonathan Dwyre was parked on another list that was created to allow a player to remain on a team and still be paid while they are recovering from an illness. There was another incident that flew under the radar. New York Jets' practice squad wide receiver Quincy Enunwa  was recently accused of domestic violence and was released by the team. Of all the players on this list, only 2 were suspended. So, to argue that the average individuals can fly under the radar when they do something wrong and a popular athletes gets raked over the coals just isn't the case.

We all tend to overpay for things from time to time. Many times, circumstances or timing helps us rationalize what we should pay for something. Did you ever think you would spend $1.50 on a bottle of water at the gas station?  Does that water afford us anything that regular tap water could? We are willing to spend the money so bottled water continues to be sold at a premium price. The value of professional sports organizations have sky rocketed. In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers organization sold for an astounding $2.15 Billion Dollars. In turn,  player's salaries have also become so inflated to the point that every player thinks they deserve that big contract. Some players get that contract and then underwhelmingly preform. After winning the Super Bowl, quarterback Joe Flacco signed a $120 million contract to reward him. He has underperformed ever since. This example is a drop in the bucket of players who have cashed in and then not held up their end of the bargain. Where else in life can you get away with that? If I badly underperform at my job, I will not still be compensated and if my underperformance is serious enough, I could lose my job.

For these reasons, professional athletes are not worth the money that they make, even by comparison within their own profession.

Football Players and CTE

On The Herd with Colin Cowherd and ESPN radio program, he spoke about a PBS Frontline story regarding the link between football players and CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. The PBS study shows that 128 former high school, college, semi-professional and professional football players were tested for the disease. 101, or just under 80%, tested positive. 76/79, or 96%, of the former NFL players tested positive. The studies were done by a collaborated brain bank from the VA and Boston University's CTE center, once the "preferred" brain bank of the NFL. Up to this point, this story seems debate proof. Although no one would argue that there is a definite link between football players and the brain disease, the findings came from a skewed population thus bringing debate to the findings of the study.

The testing was not done at random. All of the samples submitted for testing were submitted by the families of players who had suspected they might have had the disease before their deaths. In this way, Frontline author Jason M. Breslow admitted that the players represented in the study represent a skewed population. There is a good chance that these families were seeking closure or in some cases, compensation.

In July of this year, a federal judge approved a preliminary settlement by the NFL in a case where nearly 4,500 former players sued the organization for allegedly concealing the long-term effects of concussions. Ten days before the judge's decision, the NFL agreed to remove the cap placed on damages they would pay. The original cap was set at $675 million. The Judge said that would not be enough to cover the settlements of all the players who might require aid in the future. The new agreement allows $5 million for league veterans diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease; as much as $4 million for a death involving traumatic brain injury; and as much as $3 million for players suffering from dementia. It includes $75 million for baseline medical exams for retired players and $10 million for concussion research and education.

Many families of deceased players who had CTE and committed suicide, argue that CTE was the cause of the suicide. There have been a handful of players that have committed suicide in recent years. Some of the former players were known to have struggled with depression, which can be a symptom of CTE but CTE is not a difinitive cause of depression in every athlete. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, there is a suicide committed every 13 min in America. Stock brokers on Wall Street are 38% more likely to commit suicide than the average person. Lawyers, 54%. The profession with the highest rate of suicide is a physician. Most of them have a wonderful life but they are almost 100% more likely to commit suicide. By comparison, football players have a low rate of suicide despite the CTE findings.

Cowherd argues that while no one is refuting CTE studies, no one is talking about the benefits players have been given by playing football that they might not have gotten any other way either. For example, many of these athletes would not have recieved an education any other way than through sports. In a CNN investigation, entrance exam  scores for football and basketball players from 37 public universities across the country were petitioned and 21 of the schools cooperated. Some that did not said they would submit the records "after" football season had ended. The results proved that 10% of the athletes read at or near a 3rd grade level. One of the universities that received scrutiny was the University of North Carolina. UNC academic counselor Mary Willingham went through test scores over an 8 year period from 2004-2012. She found that 25% of athletes did not have the skills to take classes at a community college, let alone a university. She found that 8% read below a 4th grade level and 60% were between a 4th and 8th grade level. CNN also looked into the data Willingham discovered and found that many players at UNC were enrolled in classes that required little or no work. A UNC professor was even indicted for academic fraud over the scandal.

Football has been a gateway to opportunity and success. Football has helped student-athletes that otherwise could not have been accepted into college have a better quality of life. They have football to thank for that. Specifically to those at UNC, Willingham said, "there are athletes who are reading at a third- and fourth-grade level.... there is no way for them to succeed in a college classroom; the only place they can succeed is on the football field."  The benefits of underqulified athletes being accepted into academic programs and given opportunities for education should not be overlooked. While sports, specifically football in this case, can be viewed as being detrimental to some because of CTE, it has been beneficial to thousands just through educational opportunities alone.

The PBS special about CTE is based on a skewed study and overlooks the educational benifits provided to athletes.