From Odell Beckham Jr complaining about nearly everything and Jimmy Butler throwing a fit during practice to Le’Veon Bell, Kahlil Mack and Roquan Smith holding out for better contracts (Roquan did eventually report in mid-August and Kahlil was traded to the Bears), it seems that America’s athletes have passion without poise and are not the selfless heroes society once admired in its sports figures. They seem to be a far cry from the individuals we saw leave their profession to serve not too long ago. But does this self-focus actually bode well for their careers? Players seem to be less and less concerned with their teams and more concerned with their own situations. But why is this the case?
Frankly, modern athletes haven’t faced communal struggles like the ones their parents and grandparents had. No Nazis or Communists to rally against as a community, no civil rights movements to unify neighborhoods and force communities to march together for justice. Their battles have mainly been individual ones as many sought to survive their rough neighborhoods or figure out who they are amidst difficult personal times.
While there has been much political turmoil since President Donald Trump took office, American culture has experienced a key shift since Barack Obama took office in 2008 which has defined how these community actions affect individuals. This cultural shift has switched the nexus of identity from our communities to ourselves. Younger Americans no longer ask “What can I do for my country?” but rather ask “What can my country (or team) do for me?”.
This self-entitlement is commonplace and has resulted in the term ‘Millennial’ being connoted with selfishness and disrespect for peers and authority figures as many of those born during the late 80’s and early 2000’s have grown up with more of an individualistic identity rather than the previous generations’ priority on those around them. This self-promotion has been witnessed across collegiate and professional sports but is their self-preference costing them valuable assets to be used later in their careers? Experience of failure and self-deference may be going out of fashion, but they still pay dividends in the long-term.
Allow us to consider two recent examples that have many parallels but a few important differences. Many have compared Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield, but few have contrasted their experiences and been able to explain their different paths to (and subsequently out of) the NFL.
Johnny grew up in a family that was affluent for generations while Baker’s family, while well-off, was not to the scale or notoriety of the Manziel’s. The success of the Mayfield family has been more recently achieved through hard work and business savvy by Baker’s father James. This difference of timing has seemingly laid the foundation of hard work for Baker while Manziel’s historical wealth seemed to have inculcated the idea that success is in one’s DNA. Baker had to walk on at Texas Tech and win the starting job both there and at the University of Oklahoma while Manziel was recruited by Chip Kelly and Oregon and had been on Texas A&M’s radar for a while.
After both being drafted in the first round of the draft, Baker has arguably already eclipsed Manziel’s success in the NFL. While both have displayed passion in their on-field celebrations and off-field antics, Baker has shown passion with poise.
Restraint, discipline, and other-centeredness are traits not often associated with athletes, but they are essential to being an elite athlete. Look no further than Tom Brady who has understood the value of hard work and team effort after being drafted in the 6th round of the NFL draft. Brady has repeatedly taken less than market value for his play in order to enable the Patriots to pay for premium players. Tom knows that without his teammates he is nothing. Look to Lebron James who understands that losing in the playoffs early on made him a better player moving forward. These players are the exception and not the rule.
It is commonplace for athletes to finger point during failure and ignore those who have supported and enabled their success. This is the new athlete. They rant on social media when things are not going their way. Instead of pushing through hard times and controlling what they can in hopes of improving their situation, they bail on their team and seek a new situation. Running from problems and proclaiming they aren’t to blame, athletes that choose greener (especially financially greener) pastures may be short-circuiting their overall success. Shrinking one’s outlook to oneself can damage one’s ability to have success in a team context.
While seeking one’s own prosperity is the American dream, consider your environment and whether or not you may be ultimately taking shortcuts to short-term prosperity rather than benefiting from those hardships. Athletes who want to become stars should seek to elevate their teams and communities on their way to success, because after all, “No man is an island”.