There are two srikes going on in America, and one of them is unjust. The first includes a few hundred basketball stars who are rolling in dough. The second includes 500 coal-miners from a small town in Virginia who haven't seen money, much less real dough, in weeks. The coal-miners laugh when they hear about the recent proceeding of the other strike. They have to listen to radio becuase their TV's are all sitting in a pawn shop 30 miles outside of town.
"Yeah, we ain't gettin' no respect, yo," the Union Leader was quoted as he left a meeting with the owners. They laugh to keep their spirits up, and try not to think of the extended family squeezed into a one-floor house that they're going back to later. They have to ration food now, and after a nine-month strike they're getting pretty discouraged. Their managers won't raise wages because there is a plentiful supply of other unemployed, single workers who can do the job for less money.
The basketball stars do face a real dilemma. Their budgets are quite tight. Take James Warring for example. He gets eight million per year. after his 500,000 sq. ft. house, his vintage car collection, his taxes, and his numerous miscellaneous expenses, he's only got $500,000 chillin' money. That's not much when you go to Hollywood night clubs year-round.
Their fellow, unknown strikers in Virginia don't have nearly as many troubles. They don't have to deal with reporters, the rigorous schedule, and the pressure of being a star. They just have to worry about simple things, like if they can afford a night out at Wendy's, and who's going to get the bed tonight. It's much easier being in a small, crowded household with ten of your relatives than being in a mansion because you have no trouble finding your lost Rolex. There is a lot to be said for guys like James; sacrificing their season to get more money (not really), but there's a lot more more to say about the coal-miners who are sacrificing their livelihood for a cause.
Recently a baseball team signed catcher Mike Piazza for $71 million over a couple of years. When is Mike ever going to need 71 million dollars? He could live off the interesr it gains in a month. They should have used that money for some other purpose - one that has more than just entertainment value. He might give 10% of it to charities and the rest will sit in a bank doin' nothin' for nobody. Tht's how much we value entertainment over improving our community.
I think that the role-models and inspiration that pro sports provide are worth quite a bit, but not millions of dollars. The sportsstars aren't even worth the paper their contract is written on sometimes. Just look at all the felons and accused criminals in sports during the past decade. What real role-model would carry drugs or a weapon? These people do have a responsibility as figureheds of society, but spending millions on them won't make them better people. There's just no money for the Average Joe in Virgina because the sportsstars are taking it away from him.
