Yeah, But You Get To Call Yourself A Pro Athlete

This one's behind a paywall, but if you talk about sports, you probably should already subscribe to The Athletic (not a paid endorsement, by the way, just noting that a lot of top writers are there and if you talk sports you'll need some of that), so take a look at a reporter absolutely cornering MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on the issue of why baseball won't pay minor leaguers living wages despite making a lot of money off of them. (They get way below minimum wage, are expected to spend the unpaid off-season training instead of working another job, and even have to pay out of their own pockets to go to mandatory spring training.) It's both an indictment of baseball management -- Manfred's answers don't address the issue and instead make it clear they want cheap labor (basically, the old "you should be paying US for the PRIVILEGE of working for us" attitude) and want to keep the profits to themselves -- and instructive to all reporters and talk hosts on how not to let an interview subject, even a powerful one, off the hook when he or she mouths platitudes or BS. (The Athletic)

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