The Dehumanization of Athletes: Trent Richardson

By Tony Li on September 22, 2016

TRENT RICHARDSON

As I got ready to go to bed last night, I did a last sweep through of Youtube videos and something caught my eye: It was an ESPN E60 documentary on the once promising career of running back Trent Richardson.

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Now normally, I don’t partake in watching these films because I think they are in a way, questionable. For one, how do we really know what happened? And more importantly, it creates an endless cycle of the media blowing up every single aspect of a person’s life, only to make a film about them after their career. And in most cases, about how an NFL player’s life has crumbled after their playing days were done. But for some odd reason, I started watching the documentary. And weirdly enough, I finished it.

In the short film, I saw an element that was never portrayed by the media: how hard it can be to deal with change. Most of us go through life dealing with ups and downs. Moving from home to home. Schools to universities. Jobs to other jobs. And yet, when we look at a NFL player, we expect them to deal with everything just because they have the money. We never consider the mental toll it can take on individuals. Trent Richardson is just one of all NFL players who have to deal with this. He has had to deal with betrayal, lies, and adversity. The ones closet to him taking advantage of him. Getting traded to the Indiana Colts when he had a phenomenal rookie season, breaking Jim Brown’s first season records. Criticized for being unable to find the right gaps and openings to burst through. Richardson then went from teams to teams, each time his stay lasted shorted and shorter. The media blew up every one of his bad games. But what we didn’t take into consideration was that he was human. He had to move. Change cities. Uproot. And leave. Just like that. He had to rest.

 

Trent Richardson: A Human

I’m not trying to say Trent Richardson has life harder than everyone else. His life is different from most, but not easier. Because in the midst of a season,we criticize a player for not performing at the level they are expected. But we forget that it might be due to a multitude of reasons: More than just their skill, conditioning, and effort. What these players are expected to do. Day in and day out. It’s exhausting. It’s repetitive. It’s systematic. It can cripple and destroy anyone. As fans, coaches, and the players’ family, everyone expects them to be great. 

 

The average NFL playing career lasts 3.3 years.

One injury. And you are cut. Disposed. An average NFL player makes around 1.9 million dollars a year. But that is a very tiny sample. There are discrepancies for sure. Quarterbacks can make more than a lineman’s entire career in one season.

We run them to the ground. We really do. As fans, we want high scoring games. Coaches need to meet win quotas and make it to a certain point in the post season to keep their jobs. And the players’ have families, big big families, who all depend on them.

 

No one has it easy. Not even athletes.

Trent Richardson could have managed his money better. He could have kept his circle tighter. He should have and could have. But he is only human. I’m sure if we all took time to reflect right now, there would be countless things we know we could have done better. Everyone makes mistakes. NFL players do one thing and we view it as life and death when in reality, we make just as many mistakes, if not more. No one has it easy. Not even athletes.

 

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