“An eighteen-thousand-person town and a ten-thousand-seat stadium, for fourteen- to eighteen-year-olds, is such a weight on their shoulders,” said Dave Zirin. “It creates a culture where young boys are exalted and put on a pedestal and, in a healthy society, they wouldn’t be. Same for college athletes, treated like half gods, half chattel. They’ve historically had no collective bargaining rights, no contracts renewed once a year, no long-term healthcare. And, really, the only form of payment is idolatry. I would argue that, culturally and psychologically, it opens the door to seeing women as
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