“If I fall off a Jet Ski, I hit the water, and I like my odds,” Porter said. “I’m going to get wet. What I say about motorcycles is that concrete is undefeated.”
If I was an NFL quarterback with my whole future ahead of me—MVPs, more Super Bowls, tens of millions of dollars (none of which is guaranteed, BTW)—I might refrain from activity that would jeopardize my career. And if I was compelled to ride a motorcycle, I'd wear a helmet. I guess that makes me a pussy and is reason number 4,326 why I'm not an NFL quarterback, but jeez, Big Ben, that was pretty stupid.
What is it with pro athletes doing stupid shit? A rider in every contract should include a sidekick whose sole job is to keep the athlete from doing stupid shit like: driving drunk, getting into knifefights, hosting "Cornhole contests", and sleeping with Paris Hilton.
Seriously? I hope Ben makes a full recovery, and takes the Steelers right back to the AFC Championship Game where they lose to the Patriots.
[UPDATE: Here's a great column that addresses a lot of the side issues of the accident.]
4 comments:
Most top-dog athletes are hooked on risk-taking. It's a major source of dopamine pleasure, plus it reinforces an apparent need to assert how macho they are.
Also, being good at physical-strength/dexterity-type things, they can easily develop an arrogant sense of, if not indestructibility, at least I-can-do.
Forgive me a nit pick, but your post says "cornholing," which is the wrong word and very misleading. As explained at the linked site, the reference is to a game called "Cornhole."
Whew. (BTW, this earns you a free nit-pick coupon redeemable at Oh!pinion.)
Fixed.
Oh, I hear you on the indestructibility / risk factor. It makes sense. As I alluded to in the post, a big reason why those guys reach the top of their game and their profession—lack of fear.
My point is that common sense should enter into the equation at some point. Or, it is in the team's interest to enforce some. Frankly I'm suprised all pro athletes don't have clauses in their contracts regarding motorcycles, skiing, etc.
Your idea about contract restrictions makes a lot of sense. The teams and their insurers might want to point out what happened to Christopher Reeve, for one tragic, sobering example.
The fact is, they invest a lot of money in these guys. Sure contracts are insured, but when you have a young QB like Roethlisberger, you build the team and draft around him as well. It makes sense to protect that investment.
And as a football player whose contract is not guaranteed it behooves Ben to play it a bit safer.
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