Make The Trade
Source: Minority candidates see both success and veiled racism
Of course it is. It’s nice to have a default excuse when things don’t go your way. It must be horrific to try to exist in such a state of constant oppression. Like the Cleveland Browns. Or the San Francisco 49’ers. Both of these NFL teams have seen their fortunes decline to abysmal levels over the years. The Browns produced a perfect winless season last year and the 49’ers were only marginally better. Oddly, racism was never invoked as a reason for their futility. On the other hand, the New England Patriots had another seemingly perennial season of winning, managing to once again reach the Super Bowl.
While there is a quasi socialist mechanism of parity in the league via the annual draft, teams are left to their own devices as to how to improve their lot. Rather than just dwell in the basement, moan about the Patriots and invoke some kind of unfairness bleat, teams are forced to act to ensure their survival. Accordingly, the 49’ers traded for the Patriots’ star quarterback, Jimmy Garapallo last year in an effort to change their fortunes. The L.A. Raiders paid Jon Gruden $100 million over 10 years to rebuild their team.
Hmm.
What if nations did that? There are numerous impoverished and needy nations in the world, many on the African continent that could trade for some star players. Think of The Congo, Zimbabwe, Burundi and such, all with less than $600 per capita GDP. On the other hand, think of the wealth of star players that the United States have including some of the wealthiest, most famous and influential sports and media personalities in the world. Think of the influence of Oprah, Kanye, LeBron, Snoop and many others that feel racism continues to oppress them.
Why wouldn’t the impoverished nations propose a trade? The stars could bring money, expertise, enthusiasm and fame to lift them from poverty! Of course the poor nations wouldn’t have much to offer; maybe some hilltop view properties, some farm animals and a tropical climate, but the glitterati would have a blank slate to build a country and improve the fortunes of an impoverished nation while at the same time leaving their oppressive host nation behind. They could literally be nation builders and change the path of history for the poor nations….like Garapallo could for the ‘Niners.
In the NFL, when a player expresses disgruntlement at his playing time or his working conditions, he is usually granted a trade to a team that’s expected to provide a more benign working environment and which welcomes his contribution. Grousing constantly about present circumstances is neither good for the player nor the team he plays for. When he moves on, the world can truly see the extent of his genius. That’ll learn ’em.