August 1, 2008--"I'm not broke; I'm just not liquid," 45-year-old Evander Holyfield argued earlier this month upon narrowly avoiding a court appearance on charges that he was around $9,000 behind in court-ordered child support payments for one of his 11 children.
But there's no denying that as recently as two weeks ago, the "Real Deal's" 54,000-square-foot, 109-room, 17-bathroom home was set for auction due to a $10 million loan default.
Holyfield's most recent moves have answered questions that have long perplexed much of the sports world. Thing is, those same responses have also left us even more confused.
All the "Why-does-Holyfield-keep-fighting?" questions have now given way to thoughts of how can any one human manage to blow through some $200 million in riches before so much as embarking on life's golden years?
In Holyfield's case, the answer to both questions is pretty much the same: The four-time heavyweight champ still fights because he feels he needs to.
He spent and squandered so lavishly because, well, he felt he needed to do that, too.
Consider it the curse of being a world-class athlete, the maddening sense of invincibility and entitlement that simply seems to come with the territory. It's a formula that's proven as deadly as any opponent. One that can cut short careers as quickly as it depletes bank accounts.
Michael Vick and Mike Tyson both had it.So did Marion Jones and Latrell Sprewell. In fact, so do roughly two in every three NBA players, according to a recently published Toronto Star article that assures that some 60 percent of them are guaranteed to be destitute within five years of retiring.
With that, it becomes clear that the same indomitable spirit most athletes take to the field with themisthe same mindset they carry into their everyday existence.
But in the real world, such "a-world-is-mine" mentality doesn't translate quite the same. And clearly there can be a price to pay for that. Like the Wu Tang Clan said, "Cash rules everything around me," but these guys actually start to believe that.
Sociology professor Todd Boyd said on a segment of ESPN's Outside The Lines, when attempting to delve into the mind of the modern day athlete, "You find that there are many people who are depending on this person, who are looking up to this person and who see this person's success as their own success," he said. "As you go up the ladder, it's not always easy to simply say to them, 'OK, now I'm in this new position. Would you back off?'"
Lest, before long, it can all end just as it has for Holyfield, Vick and Sprewell, a trio that collectively grossed upwards of half a billion dollars over their careers…only now find themselves forced into the throes of bankruptcy.
In the Toronto Star article, the Raptors' forward Jason Kapono tried to shed some light on just how things begin to spiral out of control.
"A lot of players get in trouble because they want everyone around them to lead the same lifestyle," he said. "You buy this big house for people, and they no longer want to drive the low-end car to go with the big house. So the big house leads to the big car, to the better clothes, to the better restaurants and stuff. It's a snowball effect. You see how guys live."
And now we see how it can all end. Here's to hoping a picture is truly worth thousands.
What do you guys think, you think you would fall into the same trap?
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All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
I think when it comes to people like Tyson, Holyfield and Vick they are use to growing up and living in poverty so when they get all this money they arent sure how to manage it and just blow it all.
All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
I think I would go ape shit for a few years, but in the long run I would like to think I would be able to handle my money wisely.
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All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
Edit: Didn't see the question, I highly doubt I would, if I were making hundreds of thousands to millions per game, fight or other, I'd put a sizeable portion of each paycheck in a trust fund (or similar), that way, I'd always have money coming in and something to fall back on if I ever felt the need to throw money away like a moron. Also low yield but extremely safe long term stocks as an option, there are many ways to spend like crazy yet secure yourself into the golden years if you have that much coming in.
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You've Just Been Kirked To The Curb
Last edited by Robtard on Aug 2nd, 2008 at 10:49 PM
I agree, but apparently these high profile players disagree. It rolls over into Rappers and actors too.
I read somewhere MC Hammer is broke.
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All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
McHammer has been broke since 1996, his mansion with the giant gold "MC" on the gates in Fremont sold for around 6-mil, when it was worth over 9-mil, all the money went to the taxman. Guess someone could "touch this". Okay, bad pun.
Hakeem Olajuwon lived about twenty minutes from me when he was making his mark in the NBA, and several times I drove past his house, it was nice, but very basic and low key.
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All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
I don't think I'd fall into the "money trap" because I've been raised in a household that isn't exactly swimming in money. I've seen what happens to a person who has money problems and I would not want to experience that.
As far as these athletes and stars goes, I think it's along the lines of the same thing. They grow up in a family that can barely feed/support them and when they get these large amounts of money they don't know how to take care of it.
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Rorschach's Journal: October 12th, 1985. Tonight, a comedian died in New York.
I don't understand it either, never will. I'd rather be Bill Gates rich and have next to no one know it.
I had a good friend, he was into all that "bling bling" shit. He could barely afford his rent each month, but he bought a new car every year or every other year, it had rims, suspension and all the silly little gadgets on it. He had a collection of Jordan shoes that was easily 40+ pairs, of which he never wore, if he really liked one, he'd buy two and wear the second pair. Gold chains, diamond earrings, Rolex etc. At one point, he recieved around 150-200k from an insurance claim, he blew through that too in under two years.
You should have ***** slapped him and got him a financial advisor.
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All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
Why would he buy two pairs of shoes and only wear one? Am I unaware of some sort of collector's market for mint condition shoes from 4 seasons ago?
I bought two pairs of the same jeans, but I wore them both. I wore the first pair until a hole developed in the knee and then started to wear the other pair.
__________________ "If I were you"
"If you were me, you'd know the safest place to hide...is in sanity!
There's some Jordan shoe collector craze; apparently some can fetch a decent amount if in mint condition. Personally, I found his entire shoe collection to be tacky, odd bits of leather here and there, offensive color combinations etc.
I'm the same way, I'll occasionally buy multiple articles of clothing in I really like it, but I do wear them.
That's sad. It's not sad that people are selling shoes on ebay. It's sad that people are actually bidding on them. Clothing is one of those things that should decrease in value. Unlike cars that drop 10% in value the moment you sit your ass in them, clothes deserve to depreciate.
__________________ "If I were you"
"If you were me, you'd know the safest place to hide...is in sanity!
I used to play basketball alot, and I owned one pair of Jordans. Ugly as sin and very little if any ankle support.
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All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
I tried and my best friend who is financially savvy advised him in a few investment options, one was to put a down payment on a house, this was right before the housing market in the Bay Area (Ca.) went stupid-crazy. He could have doubled or tripled his money if he had done that back then and then sold it a few years ago before the market started going soft. Moron to the core.
Intstead, he bought a new Lincoln Navigator and Mitsubishi Evolution, tons of clothes, jewelry and blew the rest on going out and other junk.
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Aug 2nd, 2008 09:14 PM
