Interesting topic. I've always wondered what's really going on with these athletes.
There are literally NBA and NFL locker rooms full of multi-millionaires all across America, so shouldn't that by proxy have a significantly positive impact on African-American entrepreneurship? I'm obviously completely clueless on this topic and would love for you to educate me.
It just seems like it would've been easy for them to pool their money together and dominate an industry while making a positive impact. Like, for example, build chains of grocery stores around the country and employ locals. Whichever industry they get into, they could buy raw materials directly from Africa, and maybe even start their own shipping companies. Obviously, this couldn't happen overnight, but athletes across the country earn millions upon millions every year - this has been the case for decades.
Are athletes so utterly useless that they can't organize even a little bit, or do they just not acknowledge the global need for black entrepreneurship and ownership?
Just another random example - during the 90s music was super lucrative, and there was a lot of intermingling between athletes and musicians.Yet no attempt at building a real distribution company?
Point being - is there just no interest at all in building institutional power and wealth? Which are the main structural challenges they face, and how are they addressing these?
I could understand the logic of just wanting to make their millions and forget about regular people. However, it amazes me that they don't even attempt to build a "society within society" in order to take care of themselves. They are literally multi-millionaires hanging out with each other, and yet many of them go broke after retirement. Little to no real organizing, even to secure themselves? It just looks so utterly stupid from the outside, but I'm clueless about this stuff which is why I'm asking.