Oct 27, 2018 5 min read

Maybe it’s Le’Veon Bell’s agent.

Maybe we’ll find out when he finally shows up to play for the Steelers why he decided to pass on $7 million or more.

Was it his decision or did he just follow the advice of his agent, Adisa Bakari?

Was he influenced by the book that Bakari gives to every rookie who signs with his agency? That would be, according to a profile of Bakari by Jesse Washington of The Undefeated, “Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Black Athlete.”

According to the publisher, the book is about the evolution of the black athlete, an evolution that, ‘Has merely been a journey from literal plantations – where sports were used to quell revolutionary stirrings – to today’s figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs.’

According to Washington’s story, Bakari’s office is lined with pictures and books depicting people and events that tell the history of the black athlete in America. Bakari wants his clients to know the history of struggle and he wants to make sure that they know their value and don’t settle for anything less.

You’ve read in this space that Le’Veon Bell and NFL players in general are underpaid, when the revenue they generate for NFL owners is taken into account. That if anybody’s being greedy during this contract squabble, it’s the Steelers, but he’s not going to gain any sympathy by comparing what he’s up against to slavery.

Nobody can deny that black athletes have struggled to get the same opportunities as white athletes. Bell plays for a team that was founded by a man who was part of a gentlemen’s agreement to keep black players out of the NFL for the first 13 years of its existence. His statue is outside of Heinz Field.

That was a long time ago. Things and people were different then. But this is now. Black athletes in all sports are signing contracts that guarantee them hundreds of millions of dollars.

There is no such thing as a $90 million slave.

Slaves weren’t paid. Slaves couldn’t quit. It’s a dumb comparison.

When this season has ended, Bell could now make about $20 million in five years.

Did what he produced warrant more than that based on what other players are making?

Absolutely, but he signed an entry-level contract after he was drafted in the second round and knew that it was up to him to play well enough to get the really big bucks after three seasons.

He belongs to a union that accepted something called a franchise tag that prevents really good players from becoming free agents. He knew that when he signed. It should be a topic for the players’ union at the next bargaining session.

Slaves didn’t have a union. They couldn’t quit.

There are plenty of legitimate issues that still exist for black players, but credibility goes out the window when you try to equate them to slavery.

You would think that Bakari, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School, would know that.

Did I mention that slaves couldn’t quit?

If you’ve made over $20 million by the time you’re 27, you don’t have to stay on the figurative plantation. If you’re smart, your children, their children and their grandchildren should never have to worry about money.

Give Bell credit for walking away from millions of dollars in order to prove his point. He’ll find out soon if it was the smart thing to do. But if he’s basing his decisions on what he reads in the book that his agent gave him, he’s going down the wrong road.

Bakari says he finds it interesting when players are called greedy for making hard stands.

“There’s a little tinge I think associated with black players doing it,” he said. “But you very rarely hear the critiques when the Tom Bradys or the Aaron Rodgers of the world take a very hard stance as it relates to their value.”

Of course Brady and Rodgers are quarterbacks, who have always been the highest paid players.

And Bakari told The Undefeated that it’s not a coincidence that a black agent and a young black player are the ones making the big stand.

“There are no coincidences, at least as I see it,” he said. “But I will say that certainly I am a product of my experience. Those experiences are unique, in part, because of my heritage and my heritage in the country. To suggest that that doesn’t influence my analysis of things would belie reality.”

Here’s hoping Bell gets the deal he wants and deserves, but he should know that if he does it will have nothing to do with slavery or the color of his skin and everything to do with having been the most productive offensive player in the NFL for the last three seasons.

As it should.