scschroc@mavs.coloradomesa.edu

Since the beginning of organized sport, one thing has hobbled athletes more than anything: the muscle cramp.

You see it time and again, and it is frustrating to see a professional athlete stop playing because of a cramp or another stupid injury.

The pro athletes’ job is to compete and win. If they’re cramping or “hurt” then they’re not competing, which means they are hurting the chance of winning. Part of the job is to stay in the game.

Athletes are getting paid millions of dollars to perform at the highest level. They should be doing everything to make sure they don’t have to stop playing.

LeBron James, one of the highest paid athletes of all time, suffered cramps towards the end of game four during the NBA Finals. The biggest moment on the biggest stage of his life, with millions of people watching him, and he can’t play the last two minutes? It’s not right. The only good thing from LeBron’s cramping situation was the response from professional hockey players, who are probably the toughest athletes on the planet.

Ryan Potulny, a forward for the Washington Capitals hockey team, tweeted “LeBron James is embarrassing himself and the NBA, or actually all athletes. I wonder what kind of face he would make if he took a slapper off the laces.”

As big of a “no-no” as cramping is, it’s not nearly as bad as professional athletes hurting themselves when not even competing. Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback for the Pittsburg Steelers, wasn’t wearing a helmet and almost died after crashing his motorcycle in 2006, just one year after Kellen Winslow Jr., an NFL tight end, tore ligaments in his knee after a motorcycle crash.

The other common injury is the unbelievably high frequency of professional baseball players pulling and tearing muscles. As if it’s not embarrassing enough that baseball is the only sport where succeeding 30 percent of the time is considered superior, the number of players hurting themselves running 90 feet between bases is ridiculous. Yes, I understand that the season is “long and grueling,” and that it’s easy for muscles to tighten during the four-hour games, but get real. Stretch or stay loose between innings. At least do something to stay prepared.

Can you imagine if I cramped during one of my ping-pong matches? Unacceptable.

Even collegiate athletes shouldn’t be cramping or unable to play because of careless injuries. If I can’t play in one of our CMU soccer matches I could be hurting the team or putting my spot up for grabs.

The bottom line is that the livelihood of athletes is competing. They should be taking care of their bodies to make sure they can play.