As long as you all show up and race for less and less prize money, they will think it is ok to cut it. You willing to take a stand yet? Of course not, where you gonna go, and unless you can get most of your peers to do the same, it will be business as usual,
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It's been analyzed and studied by people far smarter than me, that in almost all "athletic union stoppages" the actual people that take a stand rarely ever see the actual benefits from it, it's the next generation of athletes that see the real benefit from the stand. It's even worse when your talking independent contractors in a weak ass money sport like triathlon....So you can suggest they take a stand for more money, but in reality they are only eating into their own profit to help the next guy coming up have it better. That's a hard ask when your an athlete in a very time sensitive career. Father time is undefeated so far.....this aint an 30 year accounting career. This can be a 3/5/10 year "career".
ETA: Look at Frodo, he's been in IM for what 4-5 years and I'm already hearing talks of retiring. Some have the great life like NZ'er cant think of his name whos plugging along at what 45+ years old..Cam Brown? or something like that. It's even harder when you have no real union to back you and.
In reality it's not even fighting WTC. The reason all these big industry sports are successful and powerful is because they are needed. Pros I certainly think are needed, but more as a "business" expense need for WTC..not as a sole reason like the NFL needs to players, etc. So the pros could do a 2 year work stoppage in Kona until they get better money, and it's only going to improve a degree. It's not going to be earth shattering, thus is it worth it for an LC pro to miss 1 out 7 chances in his life for marginal gains. The pros have "no hand" essentially. I certainly think they are needed to showcase as the big cog in this IM wheel, but they are only a cog in that WTC has 5 other cogs that make it all work. And that's no fault of the pros. That's simply the reality when your sport has almost zero revenue from media appeal. ESPN or Fox or FX isnt battling in board rooms to get them on their media stations. That's where the big money and the need for player unions really comes in handy.
Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II
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It's been analyzed and studied by people far smarter than me, that in almost all "athletic union stoppages" the actual people that take a stand rarely ever see the actual benefits from it, it's the next generation of athletes that see the real benefit from the stand. It's even worse when your talking independent contractors in a weak ass money sport like triathlon....So you can suggest they take a stand for more money, but in reality they are only eating into their own profit to help the next guy coming up have it better. That's a hard ask when your an athlete in a very time sensitive career. Father time is undefeated so far.....this aint an 30 year accounting career. This can be a 3/5/10 year "career".
ETA: Look at Frodo, he's been in IM for what 4-5 years and I'm already hearing talks of retiring. Some have the great life like NZ'er cant think of his name whos plugging along at what 45+ years old..Cam Brown? or something like that. It's even harder when you have no real union to back you and.
In reality it's not even fighting WTC. The reason all these big industry sports are successful and powerful is because they are needed. Pros I certainly think are needed, but more as a "business" expense need for WTC..not as a sole reason like the NFL needs to players, etc. So the pros could do a 2 year work stoppage in Kona until they get better money, and it's only going to improve a degree. It's not going to be earth shattering, thus is it worth it for an LC pro to miss 1 out 7 chances in his life for marginal gains. The pros have "no hand" essentially. I certainly think they are needed to showcase as the big cog in this IM wheel, but they are only a cog in that WTC has 5 other cogs that make it all work. And that's no fault of the pros. That's simply the reality when your sport has almost zero revenue from media appeal. ESPN or Fox or FX isnt battling in board rooms to get them on their media stations. That's where the big money and the need for player unions really comes in handy.
Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II
Last edited by:
B_Doughtie: Oct 10, 18 19:54