I think you're missing the spirit of this comment. They (he, I'm assuming) wasn't implying that athletes dont' work, what he was implying is that those that DO

I think you're missing the spirit of this comment. They (he, I'm assuming) wasn't implying that athletes dont' work, what he was implying is that those that DO get lots and lots and lots and LOTS of recognition for it. If a geek accomplishes something extraordinary...nobody outside of his or her industry really cares beyond "is this going to help me get to espn.com faster?". Its sad, but it's true. It is cliche' because it is true.