Opinion – Page 130 – W.A.R. Agency

Source: Complex News

If you don’t trust someone, then your interaction with them should reflect that lack of trust or knowledge of her. Yet, remember not to close yourself off by not getting the whole story. If you choose the right folks to be a part of your inner circle, life can be a beautiful thing.~Natalie Lue

It is important that the athlete have an inner circle of family and friends that he can truly trust. An athlete may need to delegate relocation, money, or other family issues, and those handling those matters need to have the athlete’s best interest at heart as well as follow his lead instead of following their own agenda.

For an athlete to consider anyone above reproach could be a fatal mistake. It is just as easy for a family member to steer the athlete wrong as Joe Smoe from down the street. And steering someone wrong does not lend itself to just financial decisions; it includes career direction, second career choices, physical conditioning, love, and just life decisions in general. Jack Johnson’s financial future was placed in jeopardy by his parents, Johnny Manziel’s career by his associates and friends, Maria Sharipova by her medical team, and the list goes on and on.

This past week, three UCLA basketball players were arrested in China for shoplifting. These players should have known better. . . . Whether it was peer pressure, a prank, a dare, or sheer greed, now these young men are facing up to 10 years in prison in China. Diplomats and other United States officials will now have to get involved to help resolve the issue. These young men risked their freedom, safety and future over sunglasses. The question begs on whether these young men had the proper people in their inner circle.

Teammates are teammates, but they cannot always be part of one’s inner circle. Sometimes after the game or practice, one has to divorce himself from the team to ensure a brighter future. The same goes for family and friends. One hopes their advice is in one’s best interest, but sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes, it comes from a place of manipulation or self-interest. As the writer of the blog, Baggage Reclaim, states:

Family doesn’t automatically qualify for being within your ‘inner circle’ unless you have the high degree of trust with each family member. You can love a family member but they may be further out in your circle (you trust them but you would be cautious over certain things or you just know your limits) and… some family members may be out of the circle because they repeatedly bust boundaries although they may feel that they’re entitled to ‘inner circle’ status.

The following advice applies to those in college as well.:

Okay, rookie, you made the team. You may feel like you struck it rich. In a sense, you have but you need to tamper the need to spend so forget the bling. Does bling project an air of financial stability? Yeah, maybe but it’s more important to have a solid financial basis. So, skip the excessive bling for you and your entourage.

Yes, one may have been friends with these people for years. Or, yes, they may be family. But success can bring out the worse in some people, and I’m not referring to the athlete in this case. There are hundreds of stories about athletes going broke not just because they spent their money to impress themselves and those around them. Athletes go broke because they trust the wrong people to handle their money. Individuals once part of an athlete’s inner circle become hanger-ons, groupies, and the like. Agents and financial advisors entice athletes with poor investment choices.

Parents are supposed to be the people in this world to protect you from outside evils and not prey on their children. The same is true for one’s doctors, preachers, teachers, coaches, siblings and friends. Yet, for the athlete learning who to trust, trusting can become a very difficult thing.

An athlete has to be very careful about his financial plans. The money he makes within his short playing career has to last him for the rest of his life unless he is smart enough to transition into a second career. It does not matter what league one plays in–NHL, NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA–one’s finances need to last to cover household expenses, trips, health care, college tuition and so forth.

The best strategy an athlete can have is to start transitioning into his second career before he retires or is forced out of the game. I was advised that it is best to have multiple streams of income at all times. Even athlete can accomplish that with a hectic schedule with the right team, aka inner circle.

It is just as important to make sure those in your inner circle are worthy to be there. Ask the hard questions: (a) does that person give as much as they take?; (b) how does that person handle their own money?; (c) is that person growing or stagnant?; (d) does he follow through on what he says?; and so forth. If there are more negative answers than positive ones, it may mean removing that person from your inner circle.

Always double check your finances. Keep your own financial records, and get an independent second opinion at least once a year. There is no shame in asking for help, so if budgeting isn’t your thing ask a financial counselor which is different than a financial planner. Learn about stocks, mutual bonds, mutual funds, CDs, and so forth for yourself. It is hard to trip someone up if he has the knowledge for himself.

Plan for your retirement and life after sports. Remember, knowledge is a power that no one can take away from you. Knowledge can help prevent you from going broke. And if you just have to have some bling to reward yourself from all the hard work it took to make into the League, then limit yourself to just 10 percent of your first contract and save the rest. Better yet, make sure that bling will appreciate over time instead of depreciate.

Source: CNN Money

Source: College of HRSM

The year of 2015 has ushered in what I, and I suspect many others also, would hope is the golden age for women in sports. It has been several years since ladies like Jeanie Buss, Christina Lurie and x have smashed the glass ceiling in the front offices of the sports teams and leagues. Leslie Visser, Jayne Kennedy, Phyllis George and Gayle Sierens are a few pioneers of women who excelled at sports journalism. Yet, there is a new phenomenon happening in the predominantly boys club . . . women are joining their male counterparts on the field of play.

This past spring, Becky Hammon became the first female assistant basketball coach for the San Antonio Spurs–the first in NBA history. Then, a few months ago, the NFL hired the first female referee, Sarah Thomas, in its history. And now, also in the NFL, the always trailblazing Arizona Cardinals have hired Dr. Jen Welters as the first female assistant coach to teach guys the position of running back.

Welters, Hammon, and Thomas are not just relishing in their current success as glass ceiling breakers. These ladies are taking full advantage to show the world what women have known for centuries which is they can compete with the men if given the chance. Hammond demonstrated this by winning the NBA Summer League in her first season–a feat very few men have accomplished in their rookie year of coaching in the NBA.

For decades, actually centuries, people have said athletics were something women could not handle. Women were too weak and not competitive enough. A woman’s place was in the kitchen, or being a mom, or some other feminine notion created by society. But women excel as athletes. In soccer, or as referred in many parts of the world–futbol or football, the 1999 U.S. National Women’s Team won the World Cup which is something the National Men’s Team did not accomplish until this year.

While there are still strides to be made, women have come a long way. Billie Jean King beat a man in tennis over 3 decades ago. Women compete on the football field in high school and college. Women compete and beat men in wrestling, tennis, soccer, baseball, softball and I dare to say the ladies who play hockey could probably beat some of the male teams. And in the future, a few women may find themselves playing on the fields in the NFL (I didn’t say the near future but I can think of a former teammate who could’ve given a few players on the Bengals a run for their money.)

The point is women athletes are here to compete seriously, and it’s time they be taken seriously and not just as objects to be admired for their beauty. While attractiveness can be nice, a female athlete should be admired for her talent not her sexiness. If a female has both beauty and brawns, then she should thank God. However, most don’t and they should be respected for their competitiveness.
Think about it . . . on the field of battle, would you want the pretty, female athlete with some talent or the completely talented but unattractive female? When I’m on that field, I’ll take the warrior and you can keep the beauty queen.