Page 2
The Blue Banner
October 18,
Opinions
Editorials
Entertainers and their salaries
One common utterance in sports discussions is com
plaints over how much athletes are paid. Baseball play
ers will make as much as $20 million a year, and that
number will presumably go up this year as Barry Bonds
begins taking bids on his services.
Very few people will argue that $20 million is an
exorbitant amount of money for someone who plays a
game. However, the simple fact is, these people are
entertainers.
Jim Carrey or Wayne Newton will generally make more
money in a given year, and the careers of those entertain
ers can go on for 40 years, instead of the 10 to 15 an
athlete might accomplish.
Obviously, this does not solve the problem, since most
people would agree that Jim Carrey and Wayne Newton
are overpaid. Even these entertainers are only paid
relative to what their presence brings in to those who
employ them.
When a studio adds Jim Carrey to a film, suddenly it
might go from a projected $10 million in revenue to $50
million. Even if they pay $20 million for their star, they
still profit $20 million from having him.
Sports teams are no different in this respect.
Adding a star player to a lineup, like Alex Rodriguez in
Texas, will fill the stands and bring in more sales at the
concession stands. Obviously, the owner of the team
thinks he will profit by having this star player.
If the players did not receive the extraordinary salaries
they do, the money would end up in the pockets of the
owners.
While the athletes are mere millionaires, the owners are
multi-billionaires. And of course, who deserves the
money more? When was the last time someone went to a
Atlanta Braves game to see Ted Turner?
The grim fact of athlete salaries is that a few stars are
paid extraordinary amounts, while the vast majority
make relatively nothing.
The Asheville Tourists just finished up their season
across town, and for most of them, the million-dollar
salaries will never come. For these guys, it is still just a
game.
Some of them might end up making millions of dollars,
but when you see a player hit a towering home run to
left field, what does it really matter if they are paid $100
a game or $80,000?
Staff Member of the Week
Congratulations to Hollie Childers of the Sports depart
ment. Hollie is The Blue Banner's Staff Member of the
Week.
ED FICKLE /NEWS REPORTER
The Blue Banner editorial crew (counter-clockwise from bot
tom): Walter Fyler, J.P. Ammons, Deleon Dendy, Sarah
Wilkins, Rachel Grumpier, Emily Schell, Luke Knox, Lena
Burns. Not pictured: C.J. Eland, Holly Koss, Dearborn
McCorkle, Matt Deal.
Letters to the Editor
A critique against
the United
Nation’s decision
Dear Editor:
As of October 8, 1 am sad to
announce that the Syrian Arab Re
public has become a member of the
United Nations Security Council.
Before I continue, it’s important
to have a brief understanding of
Syrian history.
I will simply highlight events in
Syrian history, which for the pur
pose of the article, is of impor
tance.
In Feburary of 1982, under the
government of Hafez Al-Assad, the
supreme Islamic ruler of Syria, gov
ernment forces attacked the town
of Hamah after opposition forces
against the Assad government had
gained a foothold.
An estimated 20,000 civilians were
killed by the Syrian military.
In addition, on May 15, 1974,
terrorists affiliated with the Ahmed
Jibril organization, a Palestinian
terrorist organization supported by
Syria, attacked kibbutz Ma’alot in
the North of Israel, where 21 little
children and four adults were
killed.
I am disgusted that the United
Nations voted unanimously to al
low the nation of Syria, a nation
which has a history of murder and
terrorism, to be included in such an
organization.
Syria has been allowed to sit side-
by-side with nations like the United
States, Canada and England, who
value democracy and human life.
In President George W. Bush’s
history-making speech, he stated
that, “All terrorist organizations
within a global teach must be tar
geted.”
If that is the case, then how is it
that a country like Syria, which
harbors Hizbullah, Jihad and the
Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, all of which are on the
official United States State Depart
ment list of terrorist organizations,
was accepted into the security coun
cil with minimal opposition?
I scream to the United Nations,
“Wake up!” The United Nations
has had a horrible history of cor
ruption and unfair anti-Israel and
anti-American bias.
However, I will say that even I was
surprised to see Syria take a seat at
the council. Shame on the United
Nations!
Avi Mechanic
Junior, Economics
Mark Ulmer Native American
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•Endozment And'Education fund...
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Scholarship...
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ASHEVILLE AREA ARTS
COUNCIL WILL HOLD
CANDIDATE'S FORUM
for the Asheville Mayoral
and City Council races in the
Diana Wortham Theater of
Pack Place on Thursday,
October 18th, 2001 from
5:30 PM to 7 PM. The
panelists and audience
members will ask questions
relating to the future of the
arts in our community.
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