• LesbianLiberty [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    11 months ago

    Yeah bro, Lebron literally is proletarian (he may not be at this point due to his wild success, but as a stand in for any other basketball player in those leagues, YES)

    Sports dudes will train their entire life to play professionally for a decade, maybe two? And then they have to make that money last the rest of their life because of the damage playing can do to your body. Many couldn’t work if they wanted to. It’s why the basketball players Union is so important for them, even if it tends to skew towards the top, it gets folks way more money than they otherwise would which can set them and their family for life.

    And, respectfully, if you’ve ever met the kinda guy who owns laundromats, they tend to be fuckin rich dickheads.

    • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      11 months ago

      Damn, it’s almost as if sports guys make enough money to transition into the bourgeoisie (like Jordan buying restaurants and car dealerships and MiLB teams, licensing his name out etc) or have to work doing something else. soviet-hmm

      • WayeeCool [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        11 months ago

        Damn, it’s almost as if sports guys make enough money to transition into the bourgeoisie

        The pay is upper middle class for most players but we only really hear about the handful of super stars that have fat contracts and tens of millions in sponsorship deals. Only a tiny percentage ever make enough to transition out of the working class.

        The vast majority ending up with broken bodies and working at a used car dealership the rest of their lives. These men and women were born with bodies that are statistical flukes and not made for a long healthy life due to their exaggerated size. We then ask them to do extreme things with their bodies and push limits that human beings shouldn’t be able to cross. This is why players unions that can secure lifetime medical benefits for former players are so critical in professional team sports.

        • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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          11 months ago

          This is why players unions that can secure lifetime medical benefits for former players are so critical in professional team sports.

          Especially for sports like American football, where brain damage is so prevalent.