As I was making my way through espn.com the other day, desperately attempting to find something that would fill the void in my life that exists during the post-draft, pre-training camp part of the NFL offseason, I stumbled across an interesting article on how many athletes' entourages are not adequately taking care of their famous friends. The article subsequently led me to a slightly more interesting article about how athletes are now taking a more professional approach to the company that they keep, and this got me thinking.
For the uninformed, the celebrity/athlete entourage is a relatively new phenomenon that was first popularized in the 1990s when legendary lyricist MC Hammer went bankrupt partly because of his posse of over 300. The term and trend became ever more relevant when HBO aired the highly popular series conveniently titled "Entourage," which follows the lives of young movie-star Vinnie Chase and his crew of childhood friends and relatives that live in his mansion, go to his Hollywood parties, and sleep with the excess quantity of girls that he attracts.
Traditionally, entourages have been the downfall of famous athletes. Former NFL cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones would've been wise to ditch his entourage, especially after one member of Jones' posse shot a man at a Las Vegas strip club, leaving him paralyzed . Jones was released by the Cowboys in the offseason, and so far it does not look like anyone is interested in signing him or the load of baggage he brings along.
Fortunately, some athletes have recognized the problems that come from hanging around with the wrong crowd, or sometimes just a useless crowd. Following in the footsteps of Mr. Vincent Chase, who made his best friend Eric, or "E" as they call him, his manager, athletes have begun putting their boys to work. Lebron James, for instance, let his marketing company hire his group of friends for him, bringing a whole new, twisted meaning to the saying, "you can pick your friends."
Other athletes have simply taken those that they already know and put them on payroll. Atlanta Hawks point guard Mike Bibby employs his half-brother and two childhood friends as his personal assistants. And most importantly, athletes are showing that they are not afraid to let their friends/employees go if they prove to be ineffective. Oscar De La Hoya fired ten members of his entourage last year, while NBA guard, and Circuit City applicant, Ron Artest got rid of six from his posse.
Taking entourages seriously means more than just saving money and protecting images for athletes, though. It also means that more and more athletes, even the ones that live questionable lifestyles, understand that they need to be responsible for their behavior because they are role models. This is not as impressive as it would be if athletes actually stopped going to strip clubs, but the fact that they're bringing a more responsible crowd to the strip club is a start.
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