Empathetic Opinion: It Sucks That Athletes Can't Refuse To Sign An Autograph Without Being Filmed, Put Online, And Called An Asshole

I think this topic has to be talked about, and we might not like the answer, but I think from my title it's pretty clear which way I'm going with this- I feel empathy for these guys. Russell Westbrook signed a 5 year, $206.8 million deal and yes, I, Eric Nathan, feel for HIM. You might be thinking, "Eric, why do you go by Nate when your name is actually Eric?". Well, the answer is this- when I was hired by Dave 10 years ago, everyone blogged under a pseudonym. Besides "El Presidente", everyone else's blogger name was a play off their real name. "KFC", "Kmarko", "Gay John" (later switched to Feits), Smitty, etc. So when Dave called me to give me this job, he said "come up with a name to blog under". I couldn't just tell him "uhhh, how about Eric, that sounds good to me" because when you're 24 years old and Dave calls you offering you a job and tells you to MAKE UP A NAME, you do what he says. So I shortened my last name and that's how "Nate" was created. Funny enough, I was the last blogger to do this. Trent was hired a couple months later and just was Trent. Then came Chaps, then Caleb, and the rest is history. 

But you ALSO might be thinking, "Eric, why would you feel bad for a guy who makes over $20 million a year?". Well, because it must fucking suck to be filmed everywhere you go, under a microscope non-stop, and then plastered across the internet as an asshole if you don't completely stop your day to sign your name for a stranger. Like, the concept of autographs is weird enough as it is to me. There's no human connection, there's literally nothing to it besides a celebrity or athlete scribbling their name, and for some reason we give a ton of value to it. I've never understood it.

So let's go back up top to that video. Russell Westbrook clearly has somewhere to be. This little kid is screaming "Sign my jersey! Sign my jersey!" Is Russ really an asshole for not stopping? Plus, must I remind you of the Mike Trout situation? If you don't recall, it was a situation where it is clear the kid's father stalked Trout to his hotel and used his kid to try to get an autograph to flip and sell.

Using your kid to get an autograph is child abuse. And there are people who saw that video of Trout "ignoring" the kid and never learned the full story. They now, forever, think Mike Trout is a dick. And it sucks. People just have their phones out, ready to pounce at any given moment. 

I think a lot of people in society forget that athletes are real people too. People with their own problems, their own schedules, their own responsibilities. If you think your brain is fucked up, imagine constantly being on edge about being stalked, something you said 10 years ago being resurfaced, your family being attacked because you missed a free throw, etc. Yes, the $200 million helps off-set that. But the human brain is still the human brain. You've been yelled at your job and felt like shit before, right? Now imagine millions of people shitting on you. They always say money can't buy happiness, and I think that's what they mean. 

I'm not suggesting signing autographs should never happen, but there is definitely a time and a place for it. And we have to remember not everyone can stop their daily life to sign each and every single one. Because when it comes down to it, every time I meet someone famous and have a conversation, I'm reminded of the same thing- this is a regular person who is extraordinary at their very unique job. They work hard and make a lot of money, but at the end of the day they are pretty much like the rest of us- just want to drink a beer and watch a game.