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75% of athletes broke soon after career is over (part II “from rags to riches”)
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Former NBA Player Antoine Walker
Part of the classic American dream, "from rags to riches" generally refers to someone who rises from poverty to wealth or from obscurity to fame. In stark contrast to their upbringing, most amateur athletes strive to emulate the athletic accomplishments of their favorite professional athlete(s) and aspire to live the affluent lifestyle celebrated in the nouveau riche professional athlete culture.
Once an amateur athlete defies the odds, becomes a professional athlete and signs for millions, he is faced with managing millions, when in some instances he has never managed a thousand dollars. Before the ink is dry on the contract, those whose tutelage the athlete was under as a youth, as well as the unscrupulous financial advisor(s)/banker(s) (picture Milburn Drysdale of Beverly Hillbillies fame), "ponzi schemers”, “street pharmacists” and the church pastor among others prey for a slice of the financial pie.
Conditioned by society to maintain an affluent image, some athletes purchase lavish clothes, jewelry, multiple vehicles and other material possessions to enhance their self-image and to satisfy the public’s perception of being rich while spending generously on family. Contributing to the income drain are the homes, vehicles and monthly stipend(s) given to family.
Oh, don’t forget the “Achilles’ heel” of some men, women. Women are to athletes as kryptonite is to Superman. Some athletes have relationships with multiple women increasing the odds of having children out of wedlock. Some women are only interested in the “benjamins” and embrace the “baby momma” title so they can receive child support, which deducts seventeen percent (17%) to thirty-eight percent (38%) from the athletes income based upon the number of DNA paternity matches.
Supporting family, paying child support, the ”flossing” an athlete does, being pursued, enticed and influenced by women and con men to start a business, invest in a real estate projects or other wealth creation ventures, one can understand how the money well dries up quickly. Former NBA player Antoine Walker could write a book on how to lose multi-millions. J.E. Skeets article entitled, "Former Celtics Star Antoine Walker is broke and in debt" , describes how Walker spent extravagantly. So when you hear about an athlete “making it rain” at a Gentlemen’s Club, the statistics dictate he likely will be part of the seventy-five percent (75%) of athletes who retire broke soon after their career is over.
Part I of this series exposed the foundation of this widespread problem, while the “Rags to Riches” facet was touched upon in this installment. The third and final part of this series will highlight the mental aspect of this epidemic.
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