Much has been and will be written about the opposing “sides” in the ongoing NHL labor dispute — a dispute which could last well beyond the 2004-05 season.
There is no lack of points of view concerning who is to blame (if blame can be attributed in such a circumstance).
What does seem clear is that both parties go to great lengths to defend their positions in public, in an effort to create awareness and understanding — and perhaps even a twinge of support, if not sympathy — for their position.
Inevitably, comments will be made which leave an observer shaking their head.
One example: A prominent NHL’er with a Canadian-based team recently reacted to an appearance by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the CBC National news.
Newspaper reports quoted the player as saying “I know Mr. Bettman likes to think he knows a lot about hockey. But I’ve never seen him stop a puck, or bleeding when he gets a shot in the face or getting needles in the arms, back and stomach. Players are rewarded handsomely, we understand that, but at the same time we work very hard for what we have.”
This is not simply to chastise this particular player, who has a reputation as a tough, hard-working player.
Clearly, few who have any sense of what it truly takes to become a professional (or high-level) athlete — especially a professional hockey player — doubt the talent, hard work and dedication required. Most would acknowledge, and could not themselves tolerate, the severe physical toll hockey takes on individual players.
But it is difficult to comprehend the argument that that physical toll means the average NHL salary should be almost $2 million dollars a season per player, when the “average” person works 50 weeks a year to earn maybe $40,000 a year. Brilliant surgeons, who can save lives, for example, do not make anywhere near the kind of money top NHL players make.
Oilers General Manager Kevin Lowe made a simple but revealing remark when team stalwart Ryan Smith was in a contract stalemate some time back. Lowe basically said the team had done all it could to keep Smith happy over the years, and alluded out loud to the fact that Smyth — still a very young man — had earned something like 17 million dollars in 6 or so seasons with the club to that point.
Smyth is a fine player, full of heart, indeed. But 17 million dollars already?
Those who follow pro sports realize that there are “superstar” players in sports who have earned more than 15 or 20 million dollars a season. Many people do not like the idea, but recognize that the “best of the best” in the entertainment industry are paid beyond what makes sense.
But Lowe’s simple comment, about a someone many see as a solid yet unspectacular player, likely struck a nerve with many fans. 17 million dollars in a few short years. That is way, way more than most hard-working people would earn in several lifetimes.
Public appearances by athletes for financial and public relations purposes aside, there is a real disconnect nowadays between many athletes and the people who support them.
More to the point, perhaps: if an NHL player truly believes he is “worth” millions of dollars a year for playing a game, what is the young man or woman “worth” who fights to defend their country in times of war? Whether one agrees with the notion of sending young people off to fight to preserve freedoms, it has been and is a political and life reality.
These young men and women risk more than a physical toll. They risk their very lives. And if they return home at all, they risk returning home with lifelong physical ailments.
And they aren’t doing what they do to simply entertain other people.
While that is an extreme example, it is nonetheless a comparison worth noting. But there are many other people who work hard at what they do who don’t receive the kind of income, compensation, perks, “freebies” and adulation that pro athletes receive.
If the players want to “win” the public relations battle, they would be well-advised to communicate through the media with the public a little differently.
The average person can no longer afford tickets to watch NHL teams. Do the players care?
When you hear quotes like the one above about Bettman, the old quote rings true about “protesting too much”.
The players can protest all they want. Few are buying that they should continue to receive the kind of income they have achieved simply because of the competitive realities owners face to field competitive teams.
I recall a comment a prominent NHLPA member once made (he’s still an active player). When asked about the fact that many dads could no longer afford to take their kids to an NHL game, the player said, in essence, “well, maybe that dad shouldn’t be taking his kids to the game if he can’t afford it.”
That comment was made years ago.
Have the players learned any lessons since?
