Raiders' Maxx Crosby has a lesson 'All about me' pro athletes should heed - Opinion
It is safe to say that we now live in a sports era where a great many professional athletes have two decrees carved in granite within their minds: “It’s all about me,” and “What’s in it for me.”
As the cliché goes, I know just enough about sports to be dangerous. I was invited to several professional hockey camps and one Major League Baseball camp. Since those long-ago-days, I have followed most sports religiously.
That said, I also recognize that I am a “Dinosaur” and that my world-view of proper and respectful sports conduct has almost completely been swept into the dustbin of history. Decades ago, myself and my teammates – be it from Little League on up – did believe in respecting our coaches, our parents, and authority figures in-general.
We were taught to be grateful for the opportunities given to us and make the most of them when they did present themselves. One of the major reasons we did – which is still mostly true today – is that children and young people who gravitate toward professional sports tend to come from poorer and disadvantaged backgrounds.
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As a rule, there are not a great many “Trust-Fund-Baby” rich kids running back and forth on crumbling inner-city basketball courts; skating endless wind-sprints in frigid ice rinks; taking thousands of swings a week in a batting cage until their hands bleed; or running miles of stadium steps in preparation for Spring football. But there are – collectively – tens of thousands of poor or disadvantaged young men and women doing so.
For many, getting to be exceptional at their chosen sport allows them to move far enough forward to at least see a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. A light which may shine on a better high school; a college scholarship; a professional team; or a decent home for their mom.
As one who grew up in abject poverty and lived in cars often as a child, I can for sure say those goals were a motivating factor for me.
While my greater sports dreams were never realized, the role models, coaching, lessons, fundamentals, and belief in hard work and personal accountability did stay with me and did play a critical factor in me transitioning into a better life.
Part of that transition becoming a “Fan” of sports.
As an athlete who eventually found some success in the world of business it very quickly dawned on me that without “Fans,” there would be no professional nor high-level college teams. None.
Fans fill stadiums, buy merchandise and subscribe to watch
“Fans” being the label given to hard-working men and women who not only fill the stadiums each night or week but buy the merchandise and watch – and subscribe – to the local and national networks, which pay the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and the college powerhouse conferences collectively billions of dollars.
Back in the glory days of NASA, there was a truism which went: “No bucks, No Buck Rogers.” The same holds true for professional and high-level sports. “No Fans, No leagues.”
And yet, in this social-media-driven “It’s all about me” sports era we are now witnessing, “What’s best for our fans” is the last thing on the minds of many professional athletes.
Sadly, it seems as if some of the athletes who did overcome poverty and dysfunction to attain multi-million dollar contracts have forgotten about their “living paycheck-to-paycheck” fan-base.
Knowing that, I was shocked to hear an exceptionally talented professional athlete declare right after his team stunk up the stadium that: “I just feel bad for the fans.”
In this particular case it was star edge-rusher Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders. He made the “I just feel bad for the fans” comment after he and his team self-destructed because of a lack of discipline, understanding of fundamentals, and selfishness and handed a victory to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
While some in the media are lionizing Baker Mayfield for that victory, he had next to nothing to do with the Rams' last-second win. If the Raiders Clelin Ferrell didn’t jump way off-sides on 4th-and-3 with 11:02 left in the fourth quarter – and the Raiders leading 16-3 -- the Raiders most likely would have won. But then, as to why Crosby felt bad for the fans, the Raiders were not nearly done rolling out self-inflicted wounds.
With the Rams starting at their own 2-yard line with less than two minutes on the clock and having no timeouts left, the Raiders Jerry Tillery selfishly knocked the ball out of Mayfield’s hand after Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones had sacked the quarterback for a loss. Not only did Tillery’s selfishness result in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, but it stopped the clock.
Forget Baker Mayfield. The Raiders blew the game
As Maxx Crosby knows well, Mayfield did not win that game. The Raiders blew it … in front of their loyal fans.
Other than Crosby, how many of those Raider players actually think about their fans who come to see them in the hopes of mental distraction from the daily struggles of real life? How many “It’s all about me” athletes in the rest of the NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB, or Prima Donnas in college sports feel the pain of their fans?
They should. Because one of these days those ignored fans may tire of the players “It’s all about me” attitudes and simply stop showing up. “No Fans. No Leagues.”
Maybe the players should carve Crosby’s “I feel bad for the fans” message into their minds while they still have fans.
Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the book: The 56 – Liberty Lessons from those who risked all to sign The Declaration of Independence.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB players need to think more about fans' feelings
