Pro Athletes - Babysitters Required

Michael, Michael, Michael. You had it all - a rocket arm (though not that accurate), great running skills, a huge contract and a marketable presence leading to several major endorsement deals. Now it is all in jeopardy, and for what - dog fighting? Dog fighting is a despicable, horrific activity, and certainly not one that Michael Vick thought he could lose his career over.

While it is still unknown how Vick’s federal indictment will turn out, what is pretty certain is that at best Vick will miss football games and lose some endorsement deals, and at worst he will go to prison. This brings out a point that has become increasingly apparent, and has been highlighted by the NFL’s newly-instituted behavior policy - professional athletes need babysitters.

With so much money at stake and such short careers, athletes cannot afford to get into in trouble during their professional lives, yet too many do. (Keep in mind that the athletes with legal issues only represent a small fraction of the overall athlete population but do command disproportionate media attention). The athletes in jeopardy are typically 20-something super-talented kids with a lot of money and free time on their hands. Combine this with a collection of friends that hang around their newly-rich buddies and you have a recipe for trouble.

What vulnerable athletes need is someone they trust who can pull them aside and prevent them from getting in trouble before they do something stupid. Simply put - a babysitter. If Vick and some of the other players with legal problems (e.g., Adam “Pacman” Jones, Terry “Tank” Johnson, Chris Henry, Ricky Manning Jr., Stephen Jackson, Ron Artest, Sebastian Telfair, Josh Hancock and Dontrelle Willis, just to name a few) had someone watching over them they may not have gotten themselves in such deep trouble putting their lives, playing careers and earnings in jeopardy.