Fine, Shmine. I'll Get It Back With Interest

Here’s an article I read courtesy of Lou Schuler’s blog: "When Players Don’t Pay."

This past February, the Portland Trail Blazers made a routine if unhappy announcement: A player would be benched and fined for bad behavior. In this case, forward Darius Miles was suspended for two games without pay for shouting insults at his coach during practice. The suspension meant the 23-year-old Mr. Miles forfeited roughly $150,000 of his salary.

What followed the announcement, though, has also become routine in pro sports. Mr. Miles's agent quickly filed a grievance with the National Basketball Association's players' union. And behind the scenes, he lobbied the Trail Blazers to get some of his client's money back. One proposal called for the team to rescind the suspension -- and pay Mr. Miles interest on the sum -- in exchange for the agent's agreeing to drop the grievance, according to people familiar with the proposal.

The $150,000 is now sitting in an escrow account until an arbitrator makes a decision -- or the team cuts a deal with Mr. Miles.

I just want to vomit.

Everybody can see that these players, especially the stars, are constantly coddled. The air of entitlement is atrocious. Just watch Rasheed Wallace the next time a call doesn’t go his way. He expects the refs to change the call just because he’s Rasheed Wallace.

Now we find out that when these millionaire children get hit the pocket book—a small punishment for horrible behavior but at least it’s something—there’s a good chance the money comes back to them…with interest!

But who wouldn’t want the opportunity to get an acquittal from just making a jump shot? My Dallas Mavericks offered players the chance to reduce their fines by sinking baskets from designated spots on the floor. Oh, if that only worked in real life:

“Mr. Jackson, you are accused of child molestation and being a major freak. But we’ll let you get off scot-free if you can moonwalk while reciting the alphabet.”

And it’s not just the NBA. It’s any professional sport. Get this:

• Donovin Darius, NFL linebacker, fined $75,000, result, reduced to $55,000
• Kurt Busch, NASCAR driver, fined $21,000, result, received $84,588 from pooled fines;
• John Rocker, former MLB pitcher, fined $20,000, result, reduced to $500

What's really disgusting is that all leagues have appeals processes through which players can contest penalties, but they are closed-door proceedings whose results are almost never disclosed. The leagues want to police themselves, but keeping things behind closed doors does nothing to abate the growing public sentiment of conspiracies, greed, and corruption.

The plague of entitlement continues to spread. Mediocrity will continue to rise from this as athletes will get by more often on athleticism than talent and intellegence. And they'll learn that there are very few, in any, penalties for acting like idiots.