Have you heard? Paul George suffered a catastrophic injury last weekend playing for Team USA. By now you’d have to have either been on another planet, knee-deep in a Netflix marathon, and/or in the midst of a Twitter boycott not to have heard about or seen the Theismanesque fracture that left a franchise in disarray, and the predictable sector of our society clamoring for reform.
That’s right, in this era of overprotection, trophy saturation, and hypersensitivity, life’s inequitable moments are low hanging fruit for the vocal minority trying to “make everything alright.” Problem being, everything hasn’t, isn’t, and won’t be alright, now, then, or in the future. That’s how things work, and to act with disregard to that is just another of a laundry list of examples running roughshod through a community living in a utopia which by definition fails to exist.
Since the George injury, people have questioned whether the very NBA stars responsible for putting international basketball on the map should participate in the competitions which market said stars internationally. They’ll tell you how risky it is, and how irresponsible it is regarding the contractual obligations these players have to the owners who sign their checks, and the cities who buy tickets to their games. But what they won’t tell you is that in spite of international basketball and an alleged substandard court in Las Vegas, people get hurt. That’s right, people – including professional athletes – pull muscles, strain backs, and even break bones doing even the most trivial things involved in everyday life. Was it unfortunate for George and those with a stake in the budding NBA superstar that he tacoed his leg in a meaningless exhibition designed to showcase our national team weeks prior to FIBA’s World Championships? Yes, but no more unfortunate than if he’d crushed it in a car accident, on a bicycle, or while walking his dog.
“Yeah, but additional play outside of the NBA season simply ups their odds!”
Really, because if that’s the case they probably shouldn’t be playing the countless pick-up games that are famously played throughout the summer at places like UCLA. Oh, and those games Kevin Durant played at Rucker Park in New York that everyone fawned over 2 years ago … probably not a good idea. And that shower in which Joel Pryzbilla re-ruptered his patella tendon in 4 years ago … cleansing is overrated. What about cooking? Knives … think again.
Athletes getting hurt isn’t new, it’s just that when the timing sucks and its severity is on display for millions to see, the people affected most want answers.
Indiana Pacer fans, NBA enthusiasts, and even owners like Mark Cuban who see the possibility of the same thing happening to one of their investments want their pound of flesh. And I get that. It’s human to want retribution for something which deeply affects you and yours, but to get such at the expense of the future memories an overreaction would nullify, is knee-jerk at best, and irrational and dumb to be blunt.
Paul George got hurt, a franchise had its legs chopped from beneath them and millions of people were reminded of just how fragile an athlete’s career can be, but the player will be back, the team and city for whom he plays will recover, and the millions who witnessed it will be okay in time. So let’s stay out of the deep-end, step from the ledge, and gather our wits in an effort to understand: Life isn’t fair. And sometimes bad things happen to good people. It doesn’t always mean something’s wrong, just that sometimes wrong things happen … and there’s nothing you, I, or Mark Cuban can do about it.
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