Can Spencer Brown (AthleteSpecial) make it as a pro-runner ?

malmo wrote:

muhammad ali wrote:

Hey Malmo, virtually every single profession has seen workers/employees/laborers get worse deals with the gutting of labor laws and the financial rewards of sociopathic business practices. Looks like it's made it to pro running as well.

"Why don't you just do it like I did when the country was still riding post war industrial boom to incredible wealth?"

I'm not aware of many, if any of my peers back in the day making the same deal. Also, I'm not aware of any reason why the same contract structure could be made today. Sorry to throw cold water on your rant.

From what I've heard from Wheating the performance based incentives really hurt his career and longevity and put way too much pressure on him to race as often as possible in Europe. Big shoe companies have a ton of money yet it seems like these days they do everything they can to screw any athletes that aren't a big priority to them.

Whenever I read interviews from the old timers they always seem to have a better view of their prior sponsors and in general were just treated better overall. Maybe some of that had to do with the fact that it was early in the professional era and athletes already knew they could do without big shoe companies? I have no idea. It would really make a great article if Gault went and talked to guys that have been retired a very long time about this very thing. There's too much secrecy in this aspect of T&F.