There IS No Loyalty In Sports

The sports world is up in arms about the way Nick Saban left the Miami Dolphins to go to the University of Alabama. Everyone is talking about things like "loyalty."

Where did everyone get this idea that loyalty has anything to do with business? As soon as multimillion contracts became the norm in sports, loyalty went out the window. And since when did Nick Saban owe Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga anything? Didn't he just meet him a couple of years ago? Didn't Huizenga come looking for Saban and not the other way around?
It's time that the sports world learned that there is no loyalty in sports. This is a business, and a billion dollar one, at that. Cutthroat moves are made all the time and no one even bats an eye. So Saban allegedly lied to the media about his intentions? Yeah, like the media has never been dishonest.

What would the world have had him say? He was in a no-win situation, no matter what he did. If he stayed, he would have had to deal with his personal unhappiness. If he admitted that he was thinking about leaving, he would have been strung up, kind of like what's going on now. If he said "no comment," he would have been criticized for not putting the rumors to rest. What would you have had him do?

Nick Saban doesn't owe anything to anyone. He doesn't owe any of you and explanation for what he did. He doesn't have to justify anything. He did what he felt was the best thing for him and his family. Let me put it another way: Let's say that you are working at Burger King, and you hated it. You are constantly looking for a way out of there. You are clearly being disloyal to the company that employs you.

How are you any different than Nick Saban? People leave jobs that they don't like all the time. Just because a company pays them doesn't mean that there's any bond of trust or loyalty there. The company isn't loyal to you. Do you think that if you got sick or in some sort of personal trouble, the company would come to your aid? Would they hold your job for you? No, you'd be replaced, plain and simple.

That's simply the way of the world that we live in. We live in a capitalist society and a lack of loyalty is part and parcel of the deal. You could love working where you work and make good money doing it, but if the place across the street offers you a better deal, 8 out of 10 people would wipe their ass with the job that they had been holding. It's all about what you can get for you in America. The company will recover. So will the Dolphins. There are other coaches out there and one of them is bound to do a better job than Saban was doing.

So for everyone that believes that Saban should have sacrificed his own wants for that of a multi-millionaire owner, no matter how nice a guy he appears to be, I ask you this: What about the times when a team was disloyal to player or coach?

What about how the Sixers just treated Allen Iverson after 10 years of throwing his body at the floor for a team that never had a chance at a championship?

What about Art Shell's original firing from the Oakland Raiders despite having a winning record and the support of all of his players, or the high turnover rate of the Oakland head coaching job, in general?

What about the Bulls refusal to renegotiate Scottie Pippen's contract after he became an elite level player?

What about the Detroit Lions' complete lack of support for Barry Sanders during his 10 years in the NFL?

What about Pete Babcock trading Dominique Wilkins because he was afraid he wouldn't resign with the Hawks, despite playing there for more than a decade?

What about the saintly New England Patriots refusal to pay Deion Branch, even at Golden Boy Tom Brady's insistence, in addition to other star players since they started winning Super Bowls?

What about the treatment of Steve McNair by the Tennessee Titans, even though he sacrificed his health to carry their sub-par teams for a decade?

What about numerous colleges, firing their coaches for having more than three losses in a season or losing to a fierce rival (Florida, Nebraska, etc.)?

What about the Detroit Pistons firing 50-win coach Rick Carlisle the second Larry Brown became available?

What about Tom Benson desperately trying to move the Saints to any available stadium, even in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, despite the New Orleans fans diehard support of that poorly run organization for the last 30 years?

Don't tell me about loyalty in sports. Clearly, no one told the ownership. I hope Nick Saban's Alabama team beats a Florida school for the National Championship.