Mutt

there was an ESPN or Sports Illustrated story a year or two ago that estimated that 60% of NBA players are bankrupt within 5 years of retiring from the NBA.

and yes it is a black thing, no need to be politically correct about it, for every white bankrupt pro athlete there are 50 or more black ones - these are guys raised in poverty, they don't have any exposure to financial planning or saving, not their fault that's what they're born into - they become a great athlete in their teens and suddenly stuff starts being given to them, through high school, through college and then they hit the lottery and make it into the pros. all these pro sport leagues have mandatory orientation meetings, they bring in the best accountants, financial planners, attorneys and lecture the players about taking care of their money but it obviously goes in one ear and out the other with these guys. it's a mixture of people preying on them who get them involved in horrible investments, outright scams, agents who steal from them, their own unchecked spending habits, and most of them are very generous with the family and friends they grew up with and they get taken advantage of.

but ya know, i've seen a bunch of these guys who've lost everything interviewed and they aren't as depressed as you'd think they'd be - they were poor once, it's not a shock to them, it's almost as if they were living a fairy tale like Cinderella and accept that the clock struck midnight on them.

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