Espn 30 For 30 Broke

Film Summary

According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article, 60 per centum of erstwhile NBA players are broke inside five years of retirement. By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of onetime NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress. Sucked into bad investments, stalked by freeloaders, saddled with medical problems, and naturally prone to showing off, many pro athletes get shocked by harsh economic realities after years of living the loftier life. Drawing surprisingly vulnerable confessions from retired stars similar Keith McCants, Bernie Kosar and Andre Rison, as well as Marvin Miller, the former executive managing director of the MLB Players Clan, this fascinating documentary digs into the psychology of men whose competitive nature tin can carry them to victory on the field and ruin off it.

Director Billy Corben (The U, Cocaine Cowboys, Limelight) paints a complex picture of the many forces that drain athletes' bank accounts, placing some of the arraign on the culture at large while notwithstanding holding these giants accountable for their ain hubris. A story of the night side of success, "Broke," is an apologue for the financial woes haunting economies and individuals all over the world.

Managing director'south Take

In June 2009, nosotros interviewed quarterback Bernie Kosar for the ESPN 30 for 30, The U. Anyone who knows Bernie will tell you, he's as kind and generous a guy you could ever meet. In fact, he was extremely generous with his time that morning; he talked with us for several hours and, afterwards, took pictures and signed autographs for the coiffure.

A few weeks later, Dan LeBatard broke the news: Following a series of bad investments and a plush divorce, Kosar had filed for bankruptcy. It was a shock. Beyond football, Kosar was renowned for his concern savvy and known to take been fifty-fifty more financially successful after his decade-long NFL career than during information technology.

Personally, it broke my heart. Other than actualization tired at times, there was fiddling or no indication during the hours Bernie spent with us that he was in the midst of this ordeal.

In the early part of the millennium, you lot'd occasionally hear about a high profile athlete suffering financial difficulties, simply Pablo Torre'south article, 'How (and Why) Athletes Go Bankrupt,' in the March 2009 Sports Illustrated, cast a spotlight on what seemed to be an emerging epidemic in the wake of the 2008 economical meltdown.

These days, information technology seems there'southward a new story every calendar week and we felt these stories were worth exploring. Not everyone was so enthusiastic about information technology, though.

They say the nearly uncouth subjects for dinner conversation are politics and religion. I gotta add together money to that list. Athletes, a famously proud grouping, were not particularly anxious to discuss the state of their finances, and so getting interviews for this project, not surprisingly, proved to be a challenge. I really admire the people who agreed to speak with us considering they sincerely felt like they have something to offer the next generation and hope that others will learn from their feel.

The mode "Broke" is structured, it'south non about people, per se, simply the problem, told past the people who feel(d) information technology. Information technology's essentially a step-by-step guide, How To Lose Millions of Dollars Without Breaking a Sweat.

Conventional wisdom is that professional athletes accident a lot of money on useless crap. Spoiler warning: professional person athletes accident a lot of money on useless crap. Merely that'due south barely the tip of the iceberg. I was surprised to discover -- and I think others will be, likewise -- how easy information technology is to go bankrupt. .