Archive Report
Archive Report
Mood of Discontent Among Pro Athletes
Millions of american men harbor the Walter Mittyesque wish of becoming a professional athlete.1 Fame, fortune and a life of ease would be theirs, they imagine, if only they possessed the talent to be major-leaguers. Such dreams find nourishment in reports that Lew Alcindor of the Milwaukee Bucks earns $250,000 a year; in television commercials starring Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox or Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves; in the phenomenal success of the drive-in food chain started by Gino Marchetti, former defensive end of the Baltimore Colts. To the dedicated armchair athlete, the athlete on the field lives in the best of all possible worlds.
The view from the playing field is markedly different. Numerous athletes assert ...