Professional Athletes? Try Unprofessional, Overpaid, Repulsive Crybabies...

Professional sports have become about as dysfunctional as a marriage to Kevin Federline. As a former college athlete and a future sports reporter, I have really been turned off to what is taking place in sports these days. The title, 'professional athlete' sounds more like an oxymoron these days and morons are exactly what many of these athletes are. Recently we have been subjected to the Terrell Owens suspension, to the Viking's sex party, oh, and the record breaking steroid sized-superstars who have broken the records of baseball in vein. Not to mention the many tantrums from NHL players and MLB players which have canceled seasons in the past few decades. And how could one forget the NBA posterchild Kobe Bryant and the rape charges brought against him (settle down Laker's fans, whether you believe him or not)?

It's such a cheeseball, watered-down question, but what happened to playing sports because we love them, where money shouldn't matter? What happened to being role models for children (even though it is not in the job contract), and actually naming stadiums after affectionate, traditional names, unlike the corporate, PetCo park (how wussy is that?!), Pac Bell Park, ooops, now, SBC park.

And yeah, yeah, I know one bad apple spoils a whole bunch and many athletes do give to charities and produce some great photo ops. However, the rotten apples are plaguing sports as they have never done before and I can't help but be turned off to the athletes who feel like it is their right to play sports. As much as T.O. believes he is God's gift to football, maybe he finally realized that playing professional sports is not a right, but a privilege. For some strange reason, I don't think he will have this epiphany.