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Taylor Twellman would be better off going to England. (Photo credit: Joyce Furia) |
1) Labor vs. Ownership - As a laborer, albeit of the cube-dwelling, keyboard tapping variety, I find I am inclined always to side with labor over ownership. I work hard to make the money I do, and I earn a lot of money for my employer. My cut is small. Regardless of my work ethic and commitment to that employer, if someone were to offer to triple my salary I'd be out the door in a heartbeat, not because I'm not a good and honorable person, but rather because I am a business of one. I earn for myself and my family. If my employer could get my job done for a third the cost, I'd be out on my ass in heartbeat. Honor doesn't enter into it.
And the way pro sports are set up (and MLS in particular), ownership always holds more of the cards than labor. MLS players are, by and large, employees at will. Don't confuse your love of the club with a blind support of the billionaire who runs it.
If you are willing to argue that Twellman has a contract and should be loyal to the club, then you should also be willing to argue that the club has an obligation to him to pay what he's worth on the open market, regardless of the paper they hold over his head.
2) The Lottery - Taylor Twellman stands to make more than a million bucks a year in England. The only way you or I are going to see that kind of money is by winning the lottery. Can you imagine having a winning lottery ticket taken away from you because your employer wants too big a cut of the money? Easy come, easy go...I think not. Now imagine that you earned that lottery ticket through sweat and talent. There's unfair, and there's cruel. You tell me which one this is.
3) The Dream - Soccer players don't ply their trade for 45 years like the rest of us. When opportunities come calling, they have to take them, or, often, lose them forever. Twellman, in particular, has always wanted to play in Europe. That's why he left Maryland after his sophomore year to try to make his way in Germany. Coming back to the States was a gamble on his part, one he paid for by making league minimum salary while topping the scoring charts.
The kid has more than justified his compensation. The league should let him realize his dream. Hell, I've dreamt of playing European soccer my whole life too. I just don't have the talent to make it happen. It would be petty of me now to want to keep Twellman in my home stadium, just because I can legally compel him to stay.
4) The Future - Not only does the league denying Twellman an opportunity to move on damage his morale and therefore, probably, his productivity. It also sends the message to young players that taking contract extensions to garner pay raises will tie your hands down the road and potentially keep you from making your own big career move.
Stories like Twellman's send kids like Jeremiah White (now with the National Team), Charlie Davies, Robbie Russell, et. al. abroad instead of keeping them in front of hometown crowds. Rather than serving as a vehicle for the development of great American players, MLS is turning itself into a vehicle only for the development of MLS. I could be wrong, but I think that's a losing strategy.
5) Forcing the Hand that Fed Him - As a fan of both the club and the player, I hate the thought of Twellman pulling on another shirt, but maybe, just maybe, this is the kick in the ass the Revolution need to go out and acquire some talent. They're still sitting on the money they made from the sale of Clint Dempsey. They've got money and an allocation, and they'd get more money and another allocation for this transfer.
At some point, team management has to do its job, which is to say find the players to take this team to the championship. If they have to offload Taylor Twellman, arguably the best player the club has ever had, in order to move themselves forward, I sure wish they'd get on with it.
What I fear is that they'll keep him, and his stellar play will continue to mask their laziness/incompetence/cheapness -- pick one -- and the team will never win the MLS Cup their fans deserve.
Bon Voyage, Taylor! Send us a postcard.
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