60 percent of retired NBA players are broke within five years of retirement according to a Sports Illustrated article published in 2009. Over the past couple decades people in the sports industry have begun to research player's lives after they've retired from the game they love, and what has been found is shocking. The life of an ex-athlete according to ESPN's 30 for 30 film "Broke" is not that of the perceived American dream. Not only are they often stuck in financial debt but their bodies are used up and damaged. While 78 percent of former NFL players go bankrupt two years out of the game, this is not their biggest problem. Severe brain damage can occur throughout a football players life and cause long term mental health issues. This often leads to hospitalization or treatment, and in some cases even suicide. Caused by depression, self inflicted injuries are a cry for help from athletes who no longer live the superstar life in the limelight. This is a big issue for our sport's culture in that athletes are finding it difficult to transition from celebrity to civilian. It shows how much we glamorize the professionals and put them on a pedestal. In my opinion all that needs to be done is the development of post-career programs for athletes where they can learn key financial concepts. The leagues across the US should press hard upon the retired players to participate in these programs in order to save them from going bankrupt. Until we can educate the mass of players about basic budgeting and saving the problem will go on, and ex-players will continue to frivolously spend.
Resources:
ESPN's 30 for 30 "Broke"
ESPN Article "Life After Football"
No comments:
Post a Comment