When you see someone in public that you’ve previously only seen on a television screen, you’ll generally experience feelings of shock, thrill and nervousness. In many cases these people have accomplished great feats in sports or entertainment. In other cases, something happened to them (self-inflicted or otherwise) that resulted in great detriment to their capital or reputation. Either way, seeing a celebrity excites us. This fact alone has kept tabloids in business for years.
The response becomes particularly intense when that person is someone that has created positive, lasting memories for you and/or your family.
One time I saw Emmitt Smith at BWI Airport. He is my favorite football player, and so naturally I was hesitant to approach him. Due to my dad’s encouragement, I did so. He was a very nice guy and I’m glad I met him. As a matter of fact, we ended up being on the same flight.
As I’m sure you’ve experienced, there are other athletes who were, let’s say, less than cordial when you met them. For whatever reason, they come off as thinking they’re better than you and won’t even give you the time of day.
That saying about not getting a second chance to make a first impression is especially true when dealing with celebrities. Whether it’s a pleasant or unpleasant encounter, the opinions we form about that person are soon broadcasted to our friends, family and, really, anyone who will listen. It’s not something that happens often, so when it does happen we want to be seen as the authority on that person’s character.
Have you ever seen a Ravens player in public? Most fans here have. Baltimore’s professional football players have been very accessible to this city since the early 1950’s. Colts and Ravens alike have generally been warm toward and appreciate of their fans. They acknowledge the fans’ acknowledgement of how hard being a football player is.
When I’ve seen Ravens in public, I’ve generally treated them like any other person. In my opinion, especially when they’re with their family, players deserve privacy. They’re in the public eye so much that when they have some rare time off, they probably just want to go to the store or get gas and be left alone. It’s one thing if your child wants an autograph or photo. I get that. But people hassling athletes or gossiping about them because they make a lot of money is something I have a problem with.
According to RSR capologist Brian McFarland, the Ravens currently have $126,080,190 committed toward their 2014 salary cap. If you were to take that sum and divide it evenly between the 89 players currently on Baltimore’s roster, you’d get an average yearly salary of $1,416,631.35.
According to the United States Social Security website, “The national average wage index for 2012 is 44,321.67.”
The average salary of a Ravens player is 32 times greater than that of an average U.S. citizen. Obviously there’s an imbalance here, but Ravens are professional football players–an occupation which very few men can succeed at. When your talent and production value is rare, shouldn’t your compensation be rare also? Simple supply and demand economics.
There are basically two schools of thought here. On one hand, people think that someone who makes such a large amount of money forfeits their right to privacy. You might say, “They make so much money but they can’t take a picture with me or sign my jersey? The nerve of that guy!”
On the other hand, there are people that think that despite being the beneficiary of vast financial and social gain, an athlete still deserves to be left alone if they want to be.
I’m not trying to suggest which belief is right. In fact, I can see both sides. But shouldn’t these players should have a reasonable expectation of privacy? They put their lives on the line, have all kinds of people behind the scenes attempting to extort them and don’t have enough time alone/with their families as it is.
What’s your opinion?
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