In February, the NFL players' union carried out its second annual survey of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and let's just say it wasn't pleasant reading. Tampa Bay players reported that the changing room was "not clean, constantly smelly and has a persistent bug issue". The sauna was described as "dirty and/or mouldy". This barely a decade after an MRSA outbreak infected three Buccaneers players, two of whom never competed again.
In addition, players complained about being forced to pay $90 (£72) for childcare on match days (most teams offer this for free), being charged $1,750 a season for the privilege of having their own hotel room on away trips and being made to sit at the back of the plane while club staff travelled first class. Most of the blame for this state of affairs was laid squarely at the team's ownership, whom the survey ranked 29th out of the 32 NFL franchise owners, and who go by the name of the Glazer family.
Bear in mind this is how the Glazers some of the wealthiest people on the planet - treat their most valuable employees, the ones who put their bodies on the line and make the spectacle, people they know and meet. How do you reckon they regard Manchester United fans, a bunch of regular people on the other side of an ocean who they will never encounter in their lives? Perhaps we got a strong indication of this on Sunday, as the heavens opened and so, in large part, did the Old Trafford roof.
This story is from the May 17, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the May 17, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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