J.K. Rolling The Lives of Pro Athletes

Author: Jeff Klein

This past Sunday afternoon without a New York Giants football game to watch, I remained mired in my room slaving away over my Economics problem set. It was a dull, dreary day, the kind that reminds you that a brand new week full of work and stress is right around the corner. As I looked over problem three for the twelfth time, still without a clue of how to attack it, my mind began to wander. I thought about what it would be like to live the life of a professional athlete.

Living the life of a pro athlete would be the ultimate experience in luxury. Not only are pro athletes set financially for life in most cases, but nearly everything aside from actually playing the game is handled by someone else. Agents negotiate their multi-million dollar contracts. Team attendants and stadium employees handle all their equipment, making sure everything is laid out perfectly by the time they reach their lockers. Postgame meals are even prepared for them, as if they do not have enough money to spend on their own food.

Look, I understand the grueling nature of the sports that pro athletes play. Many pro athletes are constantly nursing injuries. In the NFL especially, one's season or even career could potentially be ruined on any given play. Pro athletes also have to go through endless repetitions in practice in order to perfect their particular skill. So there is definitely no shortage of hard work.

My point is that, comparatively speaking, pro athletes have it easy. In nearly every occupation, you are going to have to put in effort in order to succeed. Aspiring doctors spend years of their lives in medical school in order to someday earn their medical degrees. Military officers undergo years of preparation and subject their bodies to torturous pain in order to someday serve their country. Likewise, pro athletes come to devote their lives to becoming the most successful at what they do, and they often pay a heavy physical, as well as emotional, price. But in no other occupation can you earn such an enormous sum of money while having so many aspects of your life expertly handled by others.

That's why it upsets me so much when athletes make outlandish statements that make you turn your head and ask, "Did he just say that?" The most notorious example of this was in October of 2004 after the Minnesota Timberwolves offered Latrell Sprewell a three-year, $21 million contract extension. This offer was less than his current contract was paying him, but was obviously still a gargantuan pile of money. How did Latrell respond? "I have a family to feed," he declared flatly. What? Latrell, some people really do have to worry about feeding their families every day. If only he could recognize how relatively painless and stress-free his life truly is. Such is the life of the professional athlete.