The take-home message is the quality of love given by a person does not equate to the quality of their advice.
There has always been that parental influence on young people playing competitive sports. Especially at places like a high-profile University and personal hopes for a future playing pro that some of them have.
But these days, the pressures on young athletes are on a whole other level. Big money now on the table. Social media ready to jump on your every miss-step. Even more intense competition to be able to find spots and floor/field time.
You just have to feel for these athletes. Yes, they enjoy a certain privilege and fame that feeds the ego and can make their lives extra fun. But there is always a down side to the perks and nice things. And others who hang-around them who do not have their best interests at heart to counter the positive influence of family and authentic friends. And as stated... not all well-intended family and friends lead you down the right path.
And as far as when an athlete leaves ‘Your’ favorite program whether it the Illini or any other favored program... some folks get caught up in hurt feelings and some sense of betrayal which can lead to their wishing not-the-best for that athlete in their future. Good natured feelings like that... or something deeper.
But nobody intends to do anything that they believe is wrong in their own best interests. Of course, some decisions they make are not in fact the best things for them. But isn’t that something all of us do in our own lives? We make mistakes or just poor choices. And we don’t have the pressures of many thousands of eyeballs watching our decisions and the media and people with opinions all over the map about our choices, good or bad.
Personally, I will always wish the best for anyone who played any time for The Beloved. They thought enough of this program to spend part of their young lives here and they should always be appreciated for that. Sure, you want to beat them in the heat of battle in whichever venue that happens to be down the road. But that’s just playing the game to win – as anyone must.
There is a group of guys all the time like a Miller that for whatever reasons things just don’t come together for them. That’s a damn shame for a talented athlete with dreams. They need a smile and good thoughts from all those who want the best for them in whatever life holds in store.