A Part of the Game

I didn't ask for this shit.

I really didn't. I mean...I never thought it'd be like this.

When I was in college, I just had to worry about going to class and playing ball. Hell...I didn't NEED to go to class. Once the professor found out who I was and that I played ball, I knew I could pass that class. But I'm no...


I went to class. I'm no dumb jock. I didn't major in Basket Weaving 101 like some of my teammates. I majored in marine bology.

People looked at me and thought that I wasn't smart until I opened my mouth and blew them away.

I handled college well...I dealt with the chicks and autograph seekers. Never had a steady girlfriend. Why should I? I could have any woman...any color...on our campus. I was the big man on campus. Everybody knew me. As my game became better on the court...more attention came. Then came the calls, emails, and text msgs from the agents. That was annoying.

I hate doing interviews but my college coach told me that I had to "play the game" with the media. They can make or break you.

Things are different now. I'm in the pros now. This ain't what I thought it'd be. Don't get me wrong...it's fun but not lilke I thought it'd be. College was the time of my life when i was playing ball. This is just a business.

I have to deal with agents, marketing reps, lawyers. I also have to deal with groupies and hanger on dudes. The groupies are unreal. They are everywhere. They are in every city and at every party that I go to. Most of them are willing to "do whatever it takes" to snag a baller like me. I don't need that baby drama in my life. I want to have kids one day. But I also want to be married and committed to one woman.

I've slept with more women than I'd care to admit to. I always protect myself but I need to stop doing what I'm doing.

Sometimes I feel like I'm caught in the middle of some "social pyramid." I mean, I'd like to hang at clubs and listen to hip hop with people who are my age but I don't want to have to fear for my life in that type of scene. I have the income and the "status" to party with the "suits" but I don't feel comfortable around those people for long periods of time. Some of them respect me more for my athletic prowess than my intelligence. So, I feel like I'm in the middle sometimes.

Y'all just don't understand. You only see what I do athletically. You see the fame and the millions that I make. You don't see me for who I am. Some of you see me as a piece of meat. I'm here to entertain you. I'm not. I'm here to play a sport b/c that's what I love to do...well...what I used to love to do. It's just a business now.

What if your salary was published in a newspaper where everybody knew how much money you made?

What if your successes and failures at work were publicly scrutinized on a daily basis?

What if you didn't want the spotlight because you knew it'd burn the hell outta you?

My life is your entertainment.

Can it be that it was all so simple then?

I didn't ask for this shit.

thoughts from your favorite professional athlete