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I know this blog is primarily based on golf and building the women’s golf community but after the latest steroid issue with ARod and MLB, my disgust grew over the lack of integrity and respect we are seeing in too many elements of our society. I need to rant for bit so if you will, please bear with me and add your comments at the end.
It’s not bad enough that in Corporate America those Corporate Executives who have allowed their companies to go into bankruptcy, fail altogether and close their doors and/or ask for bailout money, have the audacity to take millions of dollars in bonuses and be unwilling to take a reduction in their huge salaries. Talk about lack of accountability that is right there in our faces. That is a smack down for hard-working Americans everywhere.
But it doesn’t stop there. It is evident in our sports world as well. We see the numbers of ‘top athletes’ who have been taking performance enhancing drugs while racking up numbers for the record books and being paid HUGE salaries for doing so…illegally. Do those numbers really mean anything now? On top of that, athletes across the board are paid huge amounts of money based on past performances or due to a very good negotiating agent bidding for them. Granted the sports world is predominantly a privately held conclave of business owners and there is not a public shareholder issue in all of the sports arenas. However, the fan base, i.e. the public attendance and support, is the primary funding vehicle for most sports franchises and events. I am not naïve enough to believe that TV and corporate sponsorships aren’t key to the income stream but if we were to remove the fan base who cares if the sport is televised or the XYZ Company has naming rights to a stadium etc.
The bottom line is that THE FAN BASE is hurting almost unilaterally on an economic level and I have yet to see any major discussion revolving around reducing the executive compensation of the respective tours or teams, the salaries or the prize winnings to professional athletes across the board. Golf is hurting with sponsorships and losing participation at local levels. Why then is winning $1,000,000 or more for a single event still in the mix? Baseball players being paid multi-multi millions of dollars in today’s economy seems obscene to me as well. There has to be a new mentality that accepts the fact that we are facing an unprecedented time in our economic history and everyone needs to do their part…from the top down!!
Please don’t misunderstand me; I am not against companies or individuals making a fair profit or a fair wage. That is capitalism at its finest. However, how much is too much when a larger percentage of the fan base every day can no longer afford to attend the events or support the companies that are paying millions of dollars to the top players or executives???
What is wrong with performance based pay whether it is on a corporate basis or in the sports world? Why not have a base salary and performance bonuses paid AFTER achieving the desired level of achievement? You don’t measure up and you don’t make the BIG BUCKS. Plain and simple! At least golf and tennis earnings are paid out on a performance basis at the events (endorsement contracts are not a part of this particular conversation even though they are intricately woven within the fabric of this entire discussion). If an industry is suffering, and aren’t almost all industries in trouble today, why not reduce the outlay of cash to everyone, including but not limited to the workers or athletes. The top brass needs to start looking at what they are doing personally to ‘downsize’ their pocketbooks. This has to be all-inclusive.
We are facing an unprecedented crisis and we have to realize that adjustments need to be made for survival. Hopefully, this will be temporary and the economy will rebound. The lessons to be learned and implemented however, should be long-lasting.
I thank you for your indulgence for this off beat post but there are times you just need to get things off your chest. There is so much more that could be said but I will stop and look for your thoughts.
Thanks for visiting Ladies on the Tee Golf Blog at www.sherrytabb.com.
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Tags: ARod, athletes salaries, bailout money, executive compensation, golf, golf community for women, golf sponsorships, ladies on the tee golf blog, MLB, sherrytabb.com, www
Golf, Athletes’ Earnings and the Economy….A Rant for the Insanity of it All.
I know this blog is primarily based on golf and building the women’s golf community but after the latest steroid issue with ARod and MLB, my disgust grew over the lack of integrity and respect we are seeing in too many elements of our society. I need to rant for bit so if you will, please bear with me and add your comments at the end.
It’s not bad enough that in Corporate America those Corporate Executives who have allowed their companies to go into bankruptcy, fail altogether and close their doors and/or ask for bailout money, have the audacity to take millions of dollars in bonuses and be unwilling to take a reduction in their huge salaries. Talk about lack of accountability that is right there in our faces. That is a smack down for hard-working Americans everywhere.
But it doesn’t stop there. It is evident in our sports world as well. We see the numbers of ‘top athletes’ who have been taking performance enhancing drugs while racking up numbers for the record books and being paid HUGE salaries for doing so…illegally. Do those numbers really mean anything now? On top of that, athletes across the board are paid huge amounts of money based on past performances or due to a very good negotiating agent bidding for them. Granted the sports world is predominantly a privately held conclave of business owners and there is not a public shareholder issue in all of the sports arenas. However, the fan base, i.e. the public attendance and support, is the primary funding vehicle for most sports franchises and events. I am not naïve enough to believe that TV and corporate sponsorships aren’t key to the income stream but if we were to remove the fan base who cares if the sport is televised or the XYZ Company has naming rights to a stadium etc.
The bottom line is that THE FAN BASE is hurting almost unilaterally on an economic level and I have yet to see any major discussion revolving around reducing the executive compensation of the respective tours or teams, the salaries or the prize winnings to professional athletes across the board. Golf is hurting with sponsorships and losing participation at local levels. Why then is winning $1,000,000 or more for a single event still in the mix? Baseball players being paid multi-multi millions of dollars in today’s economy seems obscene to me as well. There has to be a new mentality that accepts the fact that we are facing an unprecedented time in our economic history and everyone needs to do their part…from the top down!!
Please don’t misunderstand me; I am not against companies or individuals making a fair profit or a fair wage. That is capitalism at its finest. However, how much is too much when a larger percentage of the fan base every day can no longer afford to attend the events or support the companies that are paying millions of dollars to the top players or executives???
What is wrong with performance based pay whether it is on a corporate basis or in the sports world? Why not have a base salary and performance bonuses paid AFTER achieving the desired level of achievement? You don’t measure up and you don’t make the BIG BUCKS. Plain and simple! At least golf and tennis earnings are paid out on a performance basis at the events (endorsement contracts are not a part of this particular conversation even though they are intricately woven within the fabric of this entire discussion). If an industry is suffering, and aren’t almost all industries in trouble today, why not reduce the outlay of cash to everyone, including but not limited to the workers or athletes. The top brass needs to start looking at what they are doing personally to ‘downsize’ their pocketbooks. This has to be all-inclusive.
We are facing an unprecedented crisis and we have to realize that adjustments need to be made for survival. Hopefully, this will be temporary and the economy will rebound. The lessons to be learned and implemented however, should be long-lasting.
I thank you for your indulgence for this off beat post but there are times you just need to get things off your chest. There is so much more that could be said but I will stop and look for your thoughts.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Tags: ARod, athletes salaries, bailout money, executive compensation, golf, golf community for women, golf sponsorships, ladies on the tee golf blog, MLB, sherrytabb.com, www