Loyalty No Longer in the Vocab of Professional Athletes

On one of the most exciting days of the high school and college basketball seasons, the Illinois Fighting Illini received a bit of upsetting, yet all too familiar, news. Today is the fall signing day and former Illinois commit Quentin Snider decided to go back on his commitment to Illinois and instead resign with his hometown Louisville Cardinals. Most believe that former Louisville commit JaQuan Lyle's choice to decommit is what swayed Snider back to the blue grass state. Regardless of what caused the choice, it will not justify Snider's lack of loyalty to his original word. The entire situation is something that brings back painful memories, dating back to 2007.

Frazier welcomed Gordon in understandable fashion

Who could forget Eric Gordon just a few years ago? A highly-touted recruit who had committed to Illinois only to suddenly end up at Indiana with the cheating and dishonest coach that was Kelvin Sampson? The number two recruit of the 2007 class was all set to attend and play for Illinois before choosing to back out and attend Indiana University. Gordon became a spineless enemy in the eyes of Illinois fans and was greeted as such when he took the floor at the Assembly Hall that same season. It began with Chester Frazier's shoulder bump during starting lineups and was followed by a resounding "boo" every time Gordon touched the ball. Gordon's choice to decommit from Illinois left a feeling of discouragement in the hearts of Fighting Illini fans and Snider's recent antics have once again brought those same feelings to the surface.

The point is this, there is no such thing as loyalty in sports. We have always been told that sports is a business. But has it always been that way? Take a look at the NBA, for example. Kobe Bryant, though going through a few seasons when he demanded a trade, is about the only player in his generation who will retire in the same jersey he wore in his first game as a rookie. Other players have chosen to team up to form "Big Threes" or have just been passed around the league via trades. Guys like Ray Allen don't have any sense of loyalty. I can understand wanting another championship, obviously that's the ultimate goal. But Allen took the easy and cowardly way out and joined the very team that was keeping the Boston Celtics from achieving that goal. His decision to take less money and join the Miami Heat is one that is still unforgiven and one that will be remembered for quite some time, no matter how often his game winner in the 2013 Finals is replayed. Never in a million years did you see John Stockton and Karl Malone try to recruit a third guy when they lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Reggie Miller never left Indiana after all those classic battles with the Knicks that never resulted in a Championship. That is why players like those guys will forever be respected. They didn't follow Ray Allen's motto of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". I respect Ray Allen's game, always have and always will because he's one of the best shooters to ever touch a basketball. But his character? Not even worth talking about.

Allen's choice to leave didn't sit well with NBA fans

Another example is Dwight Howard, who lacks loyalty as much as anyone. He showed no loyalty to former coach Stan Van Gundy as well as the Magic organization. And I'm sure if you ask any fan of the Los Angeles Lakers they would say he's about as cowardly as they come. Howard couldn't, or wouldn't, live up to the standards of the Lakers organization as well as Kobe Bryant and decided to bolt for Houston in order to get out of the shadow of Bryant. It doesn't take a whole lot to pinpoint Howard as someone who could use a lesson in loyalty and how to handle yourself professionally.

It's not just a problem in basketball though. Think of Pete Carroll and all the trouble he caused the school of USC. He put that school under serious duress with the NCAA and rather than accept the consequences and take it like a man, he decided to take a coaching job in the NFL where the NCAA couldn't touch him. Obviously nobody wants to get busted and serve the necessary punishment. But if you're going to put student-athletes and an entire school in trouble and strip future players of the chance to play in a bowl game then you owe it to everyone to suffer the consequences. But as so many other coaches have done when they get a school in trouble, Carroll left and didn't have to face the NCAA.

Loyalty is something that is hard to come by nowadays. Players move around the league and the majority fail to care about their coaches or front offices. It has all become about the player and the player alone. Their contracts have seemed to replace the competitive aspect of sports and players just don't seem to care. I understand sports is a business and that winning is what it eventually comes down to. But there comes a point in time when you have to stand by your word or take the punishment you're given. Athletes and coaches who back out on their schools or teams are hard, if not impossible, to respect.