Are player “demands” ruining professional sports?

While I don’t follow other professional sports leagues as close as I do the NFL, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, I do hear the latest news and notes surrounding leagues like the NBA, NHL and MLB.

I learned about the trade between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets sending Russell Westbrook to the Rockets while Chris Paul and a slew of draft picks went to OKC. This after Westbrook requested a trade.

Steelers fans know all too well about how Antonio Brown got his wish, and forced his way out of Pittsburgh to the Oakland Raiders. A trade which many viewed as highway robbery.

The most recent news, Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon is now suggesting he won’t be showing up to training camp unless he gets a new contract — or he wants a trade.

This isn’t about ‘super’ teams, like in the NBA, but about players taking their leverage and using it to the greatest of their individual abilities. My question is if this behavior is good for professional sports? Or is it showing the ugly side of the player vs. owner power struggle which happens across the board in every professional league.

While Steelers fans despise Brown for his antics and him ultimately getting what he wants, can you really blame an aging player from trying to reach one last huge pay day while in the prime of his career?

Can you blame Westbrook for wanting out of OKC after they allow superstar after superstar to leave? Leaving no one but Westbrook there to fend for himself?

I can’t speak for everyone reading this article, but I don’t blame the players solely in this situation. Fans love to side with the owners, because the owners represent the institutions which are the teams we respectively root for. But the players who are on the field, court or rink on game days are the ones putting their health and livelihood on the line to help make the organization what it has become.

Are these player “demands” good for professional sports? Or is it just another sign of greed by either the player or organization? Let us know what you think by commenting in the comment section below, and be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black-and-gold as they prepare for the 2019 regular season in just a few short weeks at Saint Vincent College.