Motivation Of Todays Star Athletes

Money motivates everybody, not just star athletes. But the idea that one can excel in a particular sport and have their sole motivation be money to me is ludicrous. I would make the case that most star athletes who have run themselves into the ground chasing money did not become great, simply because they were focused on something other than the game itself (Feinstein 277). What that is saying in essence, is that Tiger Woods’ focus is concentrated solely on his Buick endorsements and how much he cashed in this month, then he will invariably have his mind elsewhere during the tournament and probably miss the cut. It goes a step further to assume that if one is motivated by getting money and endorsement deals, then he or she lacks the mental discipline to

In conclusion, there is no cut and dry answer to the question of what motivates today’s start athletes, rather there is a complex combination of some or all of the motives we have discussed here. Some players, like Michael Jordan, have been motivated by winning championships, as we saw when he won three in a row with the Chicago Bulls then retired. Some are motivated by money, like we see with someone like Latrell Spreewell, who went to a bad team like the Knicks because they offered him a 9-figure contract. There really is no right or wrong reason for a star athlete to be motivated, if they are indeed good at what they do and they produce, who am I or anyone else to debate what motivates them? But it certainly makes for an interesting discussion.

Dawn Staley, a great female basketball player, once said that she knew she had become a star when she was on the cover of the University of Virginia’s media guide for their NCAA tournament run (Lainson). Staley had always yearned to be the best, and to win championships. But what made her realize that she was a good basketball player, and that she was indeed on her way to becoming a star, is when she saw her picture on a 50 page magazine given away by the school. Granted that’s more than I ever accomplished in soccer or tennis, but it really can do a lot for one’s ego to see something like that.

John Calipari, the New Jersey Nets' head coach who spent three years as an assistant basketball coach at Pitt before catapulting into the national spotlight by rebuilding the University of Massachusetts into a national power, coined (and has since copyrighted) a code for his team that captures the essence of what occurred that night in Morgantown seven years ago: "Refuse to Lose" (Eldridge). Calipari did what he could to motivate his players to win by instilling in them that that was their goal. His players wanted victory more than anything, and ultimately the University of Massachusetts won a national title with Calipari as the coach.

A second motivation for today’s star athletes would be championships. The obvious states that every athlete’s ultimate goal is to win the championship in his or her respective sport. When kids have backyard fantasies, it is not “Here’s Jason Bonavita, stepping up to the plate to sign his million dollar deal…” It’s more like: “It’s the bottom of the ninth, two outs in game 7 of the World Series…” You hit the home run and your team wins the championship.

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