We’re a night away from the annual NFL Draft and all the televised misery that accompanies said spectacle, and the Washington Post’s Norman Chad (above) has begun his campaign for the draft’s abolition., citing the plight of the league’s “worker bees” (“their place of work is determined for them”).
Coming out of college in 1981, I was one of the top sportswriting candidates in the nation, considered a “five-tool prospect” — I could type, report, interview, write and write for power. I was lucky enough to land with The Washington Post, and from there, developed into the non-award-winning, couch slouching columnist I am today.
But had there been a sportswriter draft and I happened to be picked by, say, USA Today, my choice would’ve been either to go write 75-word stories for a newspaper I didn’t want to join or move to Barcelona and try my hand at street mime.
Granted, it would be difficult to challenge the draft. A draft-eligible player would need to sue the NFL, it could take years to grind through the judicial system and, if it makes it way to the highest court in the land, need I remind you that Supreme Court justices often have sat in luxury boxes at Redskins games.
Another benefit of ending the NFL draft: No “Draft Day II” coming to a theater near you.