Probably should have done a post on Mother's Day too. Oh well, this blog covers family law issues in the sport world. The sports I cover have mostly male player, so, Father's Day gets more attention. Which is unusual.
Good knows we talk enough about fathers here. Especially the ones who don't pay their child support. I don't care how many kids you have -- pay your child support.
I don't care how difficult the moms are, take every second of your court ordered visitation. There is NO excuse for not spending time with your kids. Fine, being a professional athletes doesn't exactly lend itself to every other weekend visits. Do what you can. You don't have to go that party in Miami. You don't have to go to that other sports's championship game(s). Spend time with your kids. Or hey, bring your kids. They would love it.
Two tweets (god I hate that word, someone give me an alternative PLEASE) gave some really good advice this Father's Day.
Wanna say Happy Fathers Day to all the good dads out there. Wanna change the world? Starts w/the man in the home. Raise your kids!
"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." - Theodore Hesbur
On that last, you don't have to be married to the Mom or living with her. But you damn well better treat her with respect -- no matter how she acts. And you better not bad mouth her to your kids, or let your kids see by any of your actions how you truly feel about her. This is the mother of your children. Without her, you would have a reason to celebrate Father's Day. Got it? And I don't want to hear about that she doesn't do the same. Two wrongs don't make a right. Be the better person. Set a good example for your kids. That is the best gift you can get for Father's Day, knowing your kids will grow up to be good, respectful productive members of society.
Showing posts with label mlb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mlb. Show all posts
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Fundraising for Cancer Research
I don't just snark about athletes and their family law troubles. I also tried to get involved in helping others outside the law. To that end, I have started a FirstGiving fundraising to raise funds for children's cancer research.
READ FOR A CURE
The goal is to read 50 books by the end of the year. I am seeking donations of $10 for every book I intend to read. This means $500 for cancer research (more if I read more, in other words, the more I get, the more I read).
Please help this very worthy cause.
READ FOR A CURE
The goal is to read 50 books by the end of the year. I am seeking donations of $10 for every book I intend to read. This means $500 for cancer research (more if I read more, in other words, the more I get, the more I read).
Please help this very worthy cause.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Yet Another One
Yet another athlete is jailed for not paying child support. Rather than write yet another post making the same point -- Pay Your Child Support -- I just created a new page. On the page In Jail - Child Support you will find links to the stories on all athletes who have been jailed for not paying child support. It will be listed by sport. Former atheletes and current athletes will be included. I really hope this remains a short list.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
McCourts in Court - Update
UPDATE: I knew I should have posted this sooner. MLB rejected the tv deal today 6/20/11. Bud Selig said it would benefit Frank personally too much. This voids the settlement. The War of the McCourts is back on. Again, the lawyers should have planned for this obvious contingency.
They are defintely going back to Court. The McCourts have agreed to have a trial. Umm, that is usually what happens when they can't agree. An agreement usually avoids a trial.
Apparently, the McCourts are so hung up on who owns the Dodgers (not a lot of argument over anything else) that all they could agree to was to have a one day trial on whether or not the team is community property. If it is community property, Frank can buy Jamie out. If it is separate property, then Jamie gets $100 million and all the houses. No word on what happens to the houses if the team is community property.
Of there are asterisks all over the place. First of all, MLB must approve the settlement. Considering Bud Selig is not happy with the McCourts right now, that is not a done deal. MLB must also approve the Fox TV deal so that Frank has the money to buy out Jami if necessary (they got SIX houses, surely unloading a couple of those might help his finances). See the previous sentence about Bud Selig's opinion of the McCourts.
Now most folks don't have a baseball team to argue over. But, you would be amazed at what people will argue over in a divorce. It's not about the object that is the point of contention. It's about not letting the other person have it. With a sports team, there is also the prestige of owning such a team. A prestige that can be denied to the spouse.
However, the key to remember in any divorce is not so much what you get, but the end goal. You want a divorce. You want this person out of your life. If you continue to fight, you still have to interact with the person. Which can be the other person's motivation. By refusing to engage, you get what you really want -- freedom -- and deny the other person their desire -- continued interaction.
This does not mean be a doormat. But it does mean sometimes walking away rather than continuing to fight. Sometimes keeping the bigger picture in mind is the best strategy.
Someone tell the McCourts this (but not their expensive lawyers who don't even know how to hit print more than once).
They are defintely going back to Court. The McCourts have agreed to have a trial. Umm, that is usually what happens when they can't agree. An agreement usually avoids a trial.
Apparently, the McCourts are so hung up on who owns the Dodgers (not a lot of argument over anything else) that all they could agree to was to have a one day trial on whether or not the team is community property. If it is community property, Frank can buy Jamie out. If it is separate property, then Jamie gets $100 million and all the houses. No word on what happens to the houses if the team is community property.
Of there are asterisks all over the place. First of all, MLB must approve the settlement. Considering Bud Selig is not happy with the McCourts right now, that is not a done deal. MLB must also approve the Fox TV deal so that Frank has the money to buy out Jami if necessary (they got SIX houses, surely unloading a couple of those might help his finances). See the previous sentence about Bud Selig's opinion of the McCourts.
Now most folks don't have a baseball team to argue over. But, you would be amazed at what people will argue over in a divorce. It's not about the object that is the point of contention. It's about not letting the other person have it. With a sports team, there is also the prestige of owning such a team. A prestige that can be denied to the spouse.
However, the key to remember in any divorce is not so much what you get, but the end goal. You want a divorce. You want this person out of your life. If you continue to fight, you still have to interact with the person. Which can be the other person's motivation. By refusing to engage, you get what you really want -- freedom -- and deny the other person their desire -- continued interaction.
This does not mean be a doormat. But it does mean sometimes walking away rather than continuing to fight. Sometimes keeping the bigger picture in mind is the best strategy.
Someone tell the McCourts this (but not their expensive lawyers who don't even know how to hit print more than once).
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Offseason
Given their respective schedules, there is no one time that all 4 major sports are off. However, right now, the NFL is off, baseball really hasn't started and the NHL is beginning to wind down (do the NBA and NHL have incredibly long post season play or what?). The offseaon would be a good time for divorces, custody matters, whatever issue to move forward. You don't have to worry about games and practices.
Non sports folks don't get an offseason when things can be scheduled. Nor do they get to ask the court for special consideration. The court sets the hearing dates. The parties just have to tell their employer they need the time off for court. Then there is meeting with the attorney for discovery, trial strategy, etc. Depositions need to be scheduled. Attorneys like their weekends too, so we tend not to schedule around our client's schedules. All in all, a court matter means a lot of time missed from work.
What is the solution? Don't get a divorce? Don't fight for custody of your kids? Hardly. If you must take your family law matter to court, do it. Accept the timing and do your best. It is all one can ever do.
Non sports folks don't get an offseason when things can be scheduled. Nor do they get to ask the court for special consideration. The court sets the hearing dates. The parties just have to tell their employer they need the time off for court. Then there is meeting with the attorney for discovery, trial strategy, etc. Depositions need to be scheduled. Attorneys like their weekends too, so we tend not to schedule around our client's schedules. All in all, a court matter means a lot of time missed from work.
What is the solution? Don't get a divorce? Don't fight for custody of your kids? Hardly. If you must take your family law matter to court, do it. Accept the timing and do your best. It is all one can ever do.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Divorce and the Pro Athlete
One of the cool things about writing this blog is that reading sports websites now constitutes research. Yep, reading SI, PFT, ESPN, and all those other sites is now "work." As I am sitting here tonight with a gin and tonic in hand, doing research for future posts, I ran across a rather scary statistic.
The divorce rate for pro athletes ranges from 60 - 80%.
That is all major sports: NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB.
The divorce rate for the average population is 50%. This means if those numbers are accurate, athletes divorce at a significantly higher rate than the average public.
Even more frightening is that there is anecdotal evidence that most pro athletes divorce within a year or two of retiring (really retiring for good, no come backs). That means when the crowds and the adulation go away, so does the marriage.
There are many reasons for the demise of a marriage. I would like to think that athletes divorce for the same reasons the rest of the population does. Reasons like, incompatibility, domestic violence, money, affairs, just not wanting to be married anymore. But that number tells me more is at work here when it comes to a pro athlete's marriage ending.
Whatever the reason though, pro athlete or not, the goal of the divorce remains the same. Preparing two people to go forward into their new unmarried lives.
The divorce rate for pro athletes ranges from 60 - 80%.
That is all major sports: NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB.
The divorce rate for the average population is 50%. This means if those numbers are accurate, athletes divorce at a significantly higher rate than the average public.
Even more frightening is that there is anecdotal evidence that most pro athletes divorce within a year or two of retiring (really retiring for good, no come backs). That means when the crowds and the adulation go away, so does the marriage.
There are many reasons for the demise of a marriage. I would like to think that athletes divorce for the same reasons the rest of the population does. Reasons like, incompatibility, domestic violence, money, affairs, just not wanting to be married anymore. But that number tells me more is at work here when it comes to a pro athlete's marriage ending.
Whatever the reason though, pro athlete or not, the goal of the divorce remains the same. Preparing two people to go forward into their new unmarried lives.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)