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I live in Cleveland, and it was a "controversy" a few years ago when LeBron James entered the NBA instead of going to college first. People said, "He's giving

I live in Cleveland, and it was a "controversy" a few years ago when LeBron James entered the NBA instead of going to college first. People said, "He's giving up this great opportunity for an education." Huh? When Nike pays you $90M for endorsing shoes, you can afford to pay the authors of your favorite text books to come to your house and tutor you. Playing basketball in exchange for $50K/year (max) in tuition reimbursement when you could be playing for millions is idiotic. What if you get hurt? And, you're giving up what are literally four of your best earning years. Even if not via a Rhodes scholarship, wouldn't Oxford still accept this guy a decade from now? What about attending in the off-season? I once met a guy who played football for the Cowboys in the early '80s. He attended a top-tier medical school part-time while playing and went to law school at Stanford when he finally "retired." Was he rational? I'm all for education (or, more precisely, becoming educated), but if someone had offered me $10M/year to stare at a wall for 2000 hours a year in lieu of college for four years, I think I'd have taken the offer. Think of all the learning I could be doing now if I didn't have to have that day job!

Prrometheus 18y ago
Sports are knocked because they are low-brow and middle-class. But objectively, I think sport is a performance art that is every bit as wonderful as a great ballet or concert. Memories of the great sporting performances will last for centuries. Moreover, it is unique every time. Something tells me that no journalist would look down on somebody for giving up an Oxford education to pursue a fine arts career, but that tells you more about the shared values of journalists than the relative merits of the activities.
- nazgulnarsil 18y ago
  Memories of the great sporting performances will last for centuries. no they won't. Do you remember any great sporting moments from the 1700's?
  - pg 18y ago
    There weren't any then, in our sense. In those days the word sport meant hunting. The closest thing would have been prize-fighting. I believe there are some fights from that far back that are still famous among aficionados today.
    - cellis 18y ago
      Olympics?
      - pg 18y ago
        There are certainly records of individuals who won at the Olympic Games, but as far as I know no descriptions of what happened. I believe the most famous athlete in the ancient world was the wrestler Milo. There are a lot of stories about him, at least some of which are contemporary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_of_Croton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_of_Croton
  - Prrometheus 18y ago
    Babe Ruth started his pro career in 1914. We're almost a century past that. Other sports are newer and younger, but we will remember them, too. And what's even cooler, we will be able to watch them, for centuries.
JoelSutherland 18y ago
It isn't exactly fair to compare opportunities in the NBA and the NFL. The average NFL career lasts less than 3 years. I would expect that the median lifetime earnings of a Rhodes Scholar to be higher than that of an NFL player. As a bonus a Rhodes scholar doesn't have to deal with the lingering injuries.
- krschultz 18y ago
  Not to mention when a lot of those injuries are to the head, I worked for a guy who played on the Jets for 4 seasons, and still had recurring problems due to concussions.
- ShabbyDoo 18y ago
  >I would expect that the median lifetime earnings of a Rhodes Scholar to be higher than that of an NFL player. I agree. However, one must consider that many NFL players never even graduated from the colleges for which they played and have limited non-sports earning opportunities. One ex-Browns player in Cleveland is now a Realtor (sadly, a proper noun?) -- he's able to use his celebrity status to woo clients. Most aren't so lucky. Is it that being a Rhodes scholar results in high lifetime earnings, or is it that the skills/aptitude/drive required to earn this scholarship are the cause?
- jwilliams 18y ago
  I would expect that the median lifetime earnings of a Rhodes Scholar to be higher than that of an NFL player. Perhaps there is more to it than just the money dimension though?
gcheong 18y ago
Something tells me this guy will make all the money he wants and then some.

Prrometheus 18y ago

Sports are knocked because they are low-brow and middle-class. But objectively, I think sport is a performance art that is every bit as wonderful as a great ballet or concert. Memories of the great sporting performances will last for centuries. Moreover, it is unique every time. Something tells me that no journalist would look down on somebody for giving up an Oxford education to pursue a fine arts career, but that tells you more about the shared values of journalists than the relative merits of the activities.

nazgulnarsil 18y ago
Memories of the great sporting performances will last for centuries. no they won't. Do you remember any great sporting moments from the 1700's?
- pg 18y ago
  There weren't any then, in our sense. In those days the word sport meant hunting. The closest thing would have been prize-fighting. I believe there are some fights from that far back that are still famous among aficionados today.
  - cellis 18y ago
    Olympics?
    - pg 18y ago
      There are certainly records of individuals who won at the Olympic Games, but as far as I know no descriptions of what happened. I believe the most famous athlete in the ancient world was the wrestler Milo. There are a lot of stories about him, at least some of which are contemporary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_of_Croton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_of_Croton
- Prrometheus 18y ago
  Babe Ruth started his pro career in 1914. We're almost a century past that. Other sports are newer and younger, but we will remember them, too. And what's even cooler, we will be able to watch them, for centuries.

JoelSutherland 18y ago

It isn't exactly fair to compare opportunities in the NBA and the NFL. The average NFL career lasts less than 3 years. I would expect that the median lifetime earnings of a Rhodes Scholar to be higher than that of an NFL player. As a bonus a Rhodes scholar doesn't have to deal with the lingering injuries.

krschultz 18y ago
Not to mention when a lot of those injuries are to the head, I worked for a guy who played on the Jets for 4 seasons, and still had recurring problems due to concussions.
ShabbyDoo 18y ago
>I would expect that the median lifetime earnings of a Rhodes Scholar to be higher than that of an NFL player. I agree. However, one must consider that many NFL players never even graduated from the colleges for which they played and have limited non-sports earning opportunities. One ex-Browns player in Cleveland is now a Realtor (sadly, a proper noun?) -- he's able to use his celebrity status to woo clients. Most aren't so lucky. Is it that being a Rhodes scholar results in high lifetime earnings, or is it that the skills/aptitude/drive required to earn this scholarship are the cause?
jwilliams 18y ago
I would expect that the median lifetime earnings of a Rhodes Scholar to be higher than that of an NFL player. Perhaps there is more to it than just the money dimension though?

gcheong 18y ago

Something tells me this guy will make all the money he wants and then some.