When many people think of athletes they think of one word: overpaid. This could be because the media usually focuses on the “stars” of the game, like Alex Rodriguez, who admittedly is a bit over-paid. However, most players of every sport are not “stars,” they work very hard to get where they are and should not be seen as overpaid. For example, when asking people about a certain football team, lets say the New England Patriots, most people will mention Tom Brady, but then fail to name anyone else on the teams 53 man roster. Those men that no one acknowledges work very hard to stay on the team and earn their paychecks. This story on Peyton Hillis proves just that. On October 15th, Hillis got a call from the New York Giants to workout for their team. Hills then had to leave his home where he spent him time tending to his acres of land, to fly to the Giants facility with the slight hope of making the team. Placed in a hotel with no food, and not having a car with him, Hillis walked a mile and a half to pizzeria uno just to eat some food his first night there. After the workout, the Giants let Hillis know he made the team. That resulted in stays in a new hotel almost every night, practice every day, and having to learn an entire NFL playbook in about a week. After getting through the tough week, Hillis played for the Giants and contributed to their first win of the season. This story shows the tough side of being an athlete. Whether you’re the athlete that makes 20 million dollars a year, or the one that gets a call while sitting on your couch to try out for a team, there is a side to the life that they live that is not as glamorous as the media may make it seem. This story showed a glimpse of that behind-the-scenes life.
Hello world!
Apparently, the city council has approved a bill to raise the tobacco purchasing age to 21. Although this is an attempt to save lives and prevent nicotine addiction in young adults, it is a violation of the rights of adults. Officially, one becomes an adult at 18 years old. At this age, they can risk their lives as law enforcement and even in the military. They should be able to decide whether or not they want to buy a pack of cigarettes. Of course the argument can be made that raising the minimum age will prevent tobacco use and effectively save lives; but for this purpose, why even allow older adults to purchase tobacco? This argument might as well be extended to the point where tobacco is a banned substance. The bill was recently passed on a vote of 35-10 and in the next six months, the time it takes to for a bill to go into effect, we can expect many protests.
-Nadeem Choudhury