In Defense of Johnny Damon

Red Sox media darling Johnny Damon recently signed with the archrival
Yankees for $52 million over four years. Red Sox Nation is in an
uproar over such a "traitorous act," while those with less team
affiliation (or perhaps no sports inkling whatsoever) use this as
Exhibit A in their judgment of athletes as heartless, spoiled brats.

I disagree.

Let's deconstruct some of the rants people are ranting. First, that
fans care more about teams than players do. We mourn a devastating
loss after the game, while the players themselves fraternize with the
other team over beer and dinner. We hang in there with our teams
through thick and thin, while players jump ship like they're changing
their underwear. This is what people are saying.

That's the pot calling the kettle black. A lot of people unwind from
stressful jobs by getting together with friends and having fun.
That's not called not caring, that's called being healthy. Or would
you prefer that the social workers in your community agonize every
night over the kids they visit, to the point that they burn out a year
and a half into their work? And people change jobs, firms, and
locations all the time. Does that mean they never cared about the
companies, co-workers, and communities they left behind? Not at all.
Some athletes do a commendable job keeping in touch with former
coaches and teammates. Which is more than I can say about myself, and
I think I work hard to stay connected with people from my past.

OK, what about the fact that fans say athletes are all about the
dollar? Again, hypocritical. People change jobs and uproot their
families to take higher-paying jobs all the time. Does this make them
disloyal people? Sure, some people turn down higher-paying jobs
because they like where they live, but it's usually out of
self-interest rather than altruism. And besides, athletes just aren't
as connected to any community anyway, seeing as that for half the year
they spend half the time living out of hotels.

But we're talking about so much money, you might protest. 52 million
dollars over four years! Why not (in Damon's case) stay with the Sox
for $12 million less? Isn't $40 million and the adulation of an
entire city enough for you, you selfish jerk? I don't want to get too
much into Damon's case in specific, because I'm trying to build a more
generic case, but the Red Sox were Damon's third team. He had only
been there a few years. Fans are just as fickle as players; Damon may
be the darling now, but had he stayed with the Sox, he might have lost
some luster over the years. If we're allowed to boo him because he's
a professional, then he's allowed to leave because he's a
professional.

But 52 million dollars! To play a kid's game! Yes, I know that's a
lot of money. Part of why I'm proud to be an A's fan is that they
spend their money on personnel wisely, and don't throw wastefully big
bucks around. But baseball to the athletes is not a kid's game, it's
a profession. It takes a lot of hard work, and it is murder on the
body. We see the games, but we don't see the practices, the
off-season training, the total surrender of their bodies to the right
nutrition and fitness regimen. It's a high-risk profession – short
careers plus life-altering injuries equals small window for earning
potential – and thus it deserves to command the big bucks. (This is
also why I don't buy the arguments about how big-time musicians don't
need copyright protection because they're already so rich – first,
most musicians aren't rich so they need all the protection they can
get, and second, the low probability of big success means the payoffs
need to be big to justify people going into the business.)

I'm not defending Johnny Damon or the Yankees, per se. I'm just
pointing out that I don't buy what many fans are saying about the
deal. I think with talent and money comes responsibility to use it
wisely. I hate that most athletes are profligate with their spending.
But I also commend those who use their wealth and status to do
wonderfully charitable things like build schools and host fundraisers.
And I also hate it when fans who prefer to point their fingers
outward rather than look inward bash rich athletes for not living up
to standards they themselves won't bother trying to live up to.