I'm in the camp of "Progressive suspicious of sports" but not solely for the reasons the article states.

I don't want to take away anyone's passion or hobby. I think that the out-of-shape guy who watches football and armchair coaches isn't that different from me, the out-of-shape guy armchair warrior-ing in Skyrim. I'm not in love with the level of competitiveness sports imparts on our society but I understand that it's interesting and fun for a lot of people. Obviously, I can't be inherently against anything involving competition given my enjoyment of gaming, although I think when it's the ONLY thing it loses some of its glamour. There's some misogynistic underpinnings to sport but that can be said of most of society so I can hardly use that as my main problem with the industry. And I think that its the best thing in the world to have a hobby. If you like to play sports, then by all means, do so, make it your passion, make it your profession! I admire people who can make it to be the best in their field, be they programmers, athletes, or anyone else.

My suspicions about sports are economics and celebrity, actually. I find it a very curious thing that billions and billions of dollars, every year, go into building and maintaining stadiums and fields and courts, into buying tickets that cost an absurd amount, on overpriced food, on the TV rights and advertisement and licensing, and are then fed back into the absurd, 7-digit salaries given to athletes and their coaches and the executives controlling the industry. It is such a bizarre thing, and it's not that I mind athletes being paid a lot - it is work, it does take up all of your time to master it, and you do only get a few years at it, really. A football player can't reasonably expect to play until normal retirement age, so he does need more money to get by later in life. But look at some of the current salaries The Patriots, for example and you see that some of the players, in a season or two, will make more than an average American might make in a lifetime! It seems terribly absurd that one can be paid so highly for athletic feats while lots of normal, every day workers are struggling to make ends meet at all.

Aside from that, there's an insane level of fame and hero-worship that gets attached to athletes. I'm sure this is old hat and everyone knows this argument already, but are athletes really the best role-models? Should we really put them on a pedestal because they're entertainers? Just look at the Steubenville rape case and understand that this town is so wrapped up in their sports team, that they have nothing else to claim as being special about them. But it's not just this town. This story can be repeated ad nauseum with any popular football player at any level - High school, College, or NFL. People will rush to their aid, treat them with kid gloves. It's a gross injustice in the system, and it shouldn't be allowed to go on. Athletes are great, and most of them, I have no doubt, are swell people who would never take advantage of their status to get away with things they don't deserve. But we need to stop acting like they're more deserving of our admiration than other excellent and noteworthy people.

That said, this is also my concern and suspicion with anyone who is making into the millions of dollars in salary and an insane level of idol-worship, be they athletes, actors or CEOs. Everyone should be able to have idols or people they respect, and if those people are athletes, great. But we shouldn't be in a society where it's expected that, among your heroes are athletes. Expecting everyone to be enamored with them and keep up with the national soap opera, while using billions of dollars to prop up that expectation is a very bizarre thing indeed. Hence, my suspicion.