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🏀 Trouble is Brewing in Atlanta

🏀 Trouble is Brewing in Atlanta

December 06, 2022

Good morning Beyond The Press family! We had ourselves another unreal Tom Brady come from behind victory last night during Monday Night Football. No matter how old Brady gets, his clutch gene is still in its prime. In unrelated news 'goblin mode' has officially been chosen as Oxford's word of the year. No, that is not a typo! Today we dive into how Ronaldo is on track to become the highest paid athlete in the world, Kyrie Irving's hectic month of November, and is there trouble brewing in Atlanta?

Have a fantastic day!

CONTRACT CONTROVERSY

Cristiano Ronaldo to Become the World's Highest-Paid Athlete

Word on the street is Cristiano Ronaldo just secured the all-time bag. According to Spanish news outlet Marca, Ronaldo has inked a 2.5-year, €500M contract to play for the Saudi Arabian Club Al Nassr. However, other news outlets have reported that Ronaldo has not inked the deal yet and is still weighing out his options. Coincidentally, this contract costs nearly one euro for every one of CR7’s Instagram followers and would make him the highest-paid athlete in the entire world.

37-year-old Ronaldo is not the same footballer he was in his prime, but he remains a productive player and one of the most famous and popular athletes in the world. In his last full season of action, he netted the third most goals in the Premier League, which is widely considered the most competitive league in all of professional football.

But this decision impacts much more than Ronaldo’s deep pockets. For one, it raises the standard for superstar player contracts. If a 37-year-old Ronaldo can get 500M, what does that mean for guys like the 23-year-old French phenom Kylian Mbappé?

But perhaps more importantly, this move can be seen as the first step in growing the Saudi Pro League. While it’s not a perfect comparison, the MLS's reputation was instantly improved after David Beckham took his talents to the LA Galaxy in 2007, and the SPL could be looking to replicate that success with a similarly beloved player.

But perhaps more importantly, this move can be viewed as a form of sportswashing. In case you haven't heard that term before, sportswashing is when a country uses sports as means of improving its reputation and to distract from some of its wrongdoings. Saudi Arabia was recently accused of sportswashing with their controversial golf league, LIV Golf.

KYRIE IRVING

A Timeline into Kyrie Irving's Spiral

Following his suspension last month, Nike officially dropped Kyrie Irving. Irving had one of the most popular signature shoes in the NBA, but his erratic and damaging behavior has sullied the relationship. Here’s a brief timeline of how Kyrie Irving got to this point.

Kyrie Irving has made a lot of missteps in his NBA career, but the first true sign of Kyrie’s spiral wasn’t forcing a trade to be away from LeBron James, although it was undoubtedly foolish, but rather, in February 2017 when he said the world is flat. While on Richard Jefferson’s podcast, Irving admitted to believing this absurd conspiracy theory and wouldn’t back down for nine months. Eventually, he apologized, but like all of Irving’s apologies, it was far too late.

Irving continued to behave erratically in the years that followed, most notably ghosting the Nets for 11 days and seven games in the 2020-2021 season without offering anyone a justifiable explanation or even a heads-up. But that was small potatoes compared to the following year when he flat-out refused the COVID-19 vaccine, which not only sabotaged the team and cost him a $100M contract but also gave a voice to dangerous healthcare ideologies.

With the vaccine mandate lifted, Nets brass and their fans were looking forward to moving forward with Irving, only for him to outdo himself one final time. Irving shared his support of an incredibly vile anti-Semitic film on his Instagram and failed to apologize or even denounce anti-semitism despite countless opportunities. It wasn’t until after both the Nets and Nike suspended him that Irving finally apologized, but by then, the damage had been done. Kyrie Irving’s career might not be over, after all, he’s still playing for the Nets after completing their accountability list, but it will never be the same again. Whether he changed along the way or this was always who Kyrie was, this is him now, and it’s sad to see.

The NBA will move on from Irving in time, just as Nike is doing. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Nike has identified Ja Morant as the next NBA superstar to receive a signature shoe, which has reportedly been in the works for months.

'MISCOMMUNICATION'

Inside the Trouble Brewing in Atlanta

The Atlanta Hawks made the wrong kind of headlines when word got out about a rift between Trae Young and head coach Nate McMillian. Tensions between star players and coaches are often poisonous to a team, and usually, it’s the coach who takes the fall. Just ask former Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce. According to the Athletic, McMillian’s job is safe, but things often change quickly in the NBA. Here’s what we know about Atlanta’s troubles:

This recent squabble started on Friday when Trae Young opted to miss Friday’s shootaround for a shoulder treatment and essentially labeled himself a game-time decision for that night's game. McMillian didn’t sign off on this plan and reportedly told Young that he can either come off the bench or not to attend the game. Young didn't show up, and eyebrows were immediately raised.

The Hawks were already under a microscope due to their lackluster 13-11 record, and the last thing they needed was a distraction like this. In an attempt to calm the storm, McMillan spoke to reporters on Monday and flatly denied telling Young not to attend the game. Young also chimed in earlier that day, doing his part to right the ship. All of this is well and good, but where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.

It’s hard not to draw a line between the Hawks' struggles, who are hovering just over .500, and Trae Young. While Young's counting stats haven't dipped much, he's shooting the ball much less efficiently. We have enough of a sample size to predict Young's shooting will improve, but seeing Young beef with yet another coach is concerning. The Hawks can't afford to waste time, as the addition of Dejounte Murray put them firmly in win-now mode, but this latest incident surely isn't helping team morale and synergy.