Should Professional Sports Players Undergo Background Checks?

As a fan of professional sports, you expect your privacy and safety to be respected. You assume the concession stand vendor won’t steal your credit card information, and you feel safe because of the stadium security on standby.

What about the athletes themselves? Are these individuals held to the same standards?

A background check performed by the folks at ScoutLogic or another similar agency can help teams protect their reputations and the general public.

Here, we will explore why professional sports players should be required to undergo background checks. 

Problems with Former Pro Athletes

To understand why professional sports players should undergo background checks, we need to take a look at the past.

Many athletes across different sports have been convicted of serious crimes. For example, Rae Carruth, a former wide receiver for the Caroline Panthers, was convicted of conspiring to murder his then-girlfriend and her unborn child. Another former NFL player, Kevin Allen, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexual assault.

James Kirkland, an American boxer, was convicted of armed robbery and has come under fire more recently for federal weapons charges. Former American figure skater Tonya Harding was accused of domestic violence and driving under the influence. 

Just because these athletes display superhuman athleticism doesn’t excuse them of their actions. Their violent decisions inflicted both physical and mental harm on their victims. 

These are just a few past examples. There are plenty of current athletes who have brought bad press to their teams, including Jameis Winston and Derrius Guice. 

Why Agencies Need to Get the Full Story on Their Players

At such a high level of competition, it’s important for recruiting agencies to get the full story on each player they recruit.

Pro athletes are highly revered by people across the nation. Both young children and adults look up to and respect what these players can do. 

Sports organizations need to ensure that they are only allowing admirable people onto their teams. Allowing fans to idolize a player with a history of criminal activity is unethical. 

Sports leagues need to be careful with who they bring on. If they draft someone with a criminal record, the reputation of their whole organization may be called into question. If a sports league isn’t selective enough, it might suffer from bad press and lose a lot of money. 

A background check can provide recruiters with information on driving records as well as more serious criminal activity. 

Pinpointing Potential Dangers to Fellow Athletes

Imagine a well-rounded team in your favorite sports league. All the players get along well. They click perfectly both on and off the field. They work hard to advance in their particular division.

Just one ill-intentioned player can throw this otherwise flawless unit off track. A player with bad intentions or violent inclinations can cause the whole team to suffer. This is not fair to law-abiding athletes who only hope to play the sport they love and inspire others around them. 

That’s why it’s important for every athlete to go through a thorough background check. Taking these preventative steps will keep devious, indecent athletes off of the field or court from the get-go. 

Justifying the Paychecks

No matter which league an athlete plays in, their paycheck is no small amount. According to Sportscasting, the minimum salary for an active roster player in the NFL is $610,000.

Athletes who are making this much money need to be of good character. They need to show that they deserve the money they make and will put it to good use, rather than spend it recklessly or in a way that could bring harm to others.