Even if you can't work at a Google or Facebook and be totally pampered, I'm surprised that any company can stay competitive if it doesn't treat its professional employees well. Unemployment is low -- the better employees are going to walk.
It varies from place to place. Take, for example, Facebook. My observation as a visitor is that the people with whom I've interacted -- including the front desk, engineers, and the legal staff -- are treated well. Whereas the people they hire to handle custodial duties and work in food service seem to be considered fungible. (No one has said this to me -- just my observation.) In other organizations, the invisible class has included the manufacturing staff or the people hooked up to headsets taking calls. In smaller organizations, those distinctions tend not to exist. So "professional" is not the right word -- more to the point, is this person considered part of the fabric of the organization or not? It's not about salary, title, or education -- in some smaller organizations, the people who seem to be at the lowest end of the compensation ladder can be the most important as keepers of the organization's culture. I would not say that all (or even most) organizations DO a great job of properly respecting their employees, and I could tell you horror stories about one large local employer who -- despite all the fine policies -- fails on many points. But they at least pretend to be pffering the kind of environment and employee development opportunities you'd study in an Organizational Behavior course. To get back to MLS: you have an uncommon (though not rare) situation of two entities, the team and the league, each pointing the finger at the other. "We're the good guy; it's their fault." This sort of blaming happens within individual organizations too, but usually they're complaining about HR or the legal department!
I believe that in this case, it's very much Wynne against the league, the Quakes hands are tied in this matter. It would be best to stop blaming our team on this issue. There are many other issues where real legitimate complaints against the team can be had, but not this one.
We don't know the whole story, and could be that the FO offered him some other position and he wasn't interested. But they could have done something -- even if they didn't have the power to reinstate him as a player because of league rules.
I would tend to strenuously doubt that if the team wanted him to play MLS would have overriden them. Garber is more adept at kissing than kicking, if you get my drift...
He needs to have been cleared by a doctor, and then because the league's doctor will not clear him, there needs to be a process whereby the conflicting opinions are resolved. That is fraught will all kinds of legal, business and medical risks, and I don't think the FO wanting him to play would make one iota of a difference.
Whatever the restrictions/constrictions imposed by the league, there was no reason to keep him in limbo for 9 months. The conflicting opinions could have been resolved. That's the humane, employee-centric way to do it, especially in an organization where your employees are the product.
He could go to a team like Nashville and be a force immediately in the USL and climb up with them right?
I admire your optimism, but this is MLS we're talking about. Their history of treating players with respect is non-existent for anyone not named David Beckham. I don't expect it to get any better, either. With the conflicts between players and owners in the NFL and MLB, players are going to get screwed unless they seriously threaten to strike. I think MLS would be in the "best" position to beat a strike of all the major US/North American leagues due to the sheer number of players available, but I think the players have a lot more leverage than that (especially international players). Getting a whole league's worth of scabs to sign is no easy task and I doubt fans would take kindly to a mass exodus of the current best talent. Things like Wynne's dispute with the league should be targets of focus for the next CBA. We can only hope the players' union makes some serious ground with regards to better treatment.
I am not sure I would refer to the league treating David Beckham with respect, I might describe it as "the league fawning all over Sir David and groveling before his shadow". Beckham was/is an ass, and the fact that the league let him wait seven years (?, maybe it was six or five) to be able to fill the requirements of bringing a team to Miami demonstrates the extremely one-side relationship. Contrast that to the way they treated Wynne and my point is made.
I think the reason he was in limbo is the contract...the CBA. Why the CBA would be drafted in a way that would allow this to happen I don't know. And the other thing about the timing would be recovery from surgery so he could be medically evaluated. And I don't mean just the immediate post-op type recovery, but full "best he's going to get" after complete healing.
Marvell Wynne officially retires http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-le...-wynne-retires-one-year-after-heart-operation Cool fact: I used to watch his dad play baseball for the San Diego Padres so I always thought it was cool that I got to watch his son play pro soccer. Bummer of a way to have it end with the heart issue. Best wishes to him!
He made the right decision especially with a bum ticker. If you are still playing at 31 years of age, the time clock on most players careers can come at any time. Maybe he could play on until he is 33 or 34 but only a select few keep on playing at that age and betond unless they are superstars or national team players. Any league but especially an MLS contract isn’t worth the cost of a life. Hope he will have a long productive and healthy future! .
Marvell Wynne is still coming to grips with how his career ended. He speaks about his heart condition, his subsequent surgery, and his protracted battle with #MLS all of which led to the end of his career: https://t.co/tsLsbiLN8s #Quakes74— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) July 16, 2018
" . . .. Wynne bears no ill will towards the Quakes, who let the defender use the team's workout facilities during his recovery. 'The Quakes, they're the good guys, I'll tell you that,' he said. . . ." Consistent with what Wynne has told me.
The most compelling quotes from Wynne come at the end of the article. A cautionary tale, probably obvious to almost everyone who has to work for someone else: "Wynne's experience has served as a reminder of just how tenuous a professional sports career is. "After all this, I realize I am just a product, I'm not really a person," he said. "I was a means of making money. That's just the way it is. I see MLS a little differently now. Every team wants you to grab the crest and show pride and honor and all that. But at the drop of a hat, you're not doing too well? Gone. Someone better has come along? Gone. Someone cheaper has come along? Gone. And then MLS does the same thing with their power. I've been in the league for so long. I think I've contributed quite a bit. And then we have to negotiate so hard to try to get anything out of a settlement, if that's even possible. I was working for them. Now it's me versus them. I don't know how that happened so quickly."" http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-le...nne-and-mls-that-led-to-the-end-of-his-career MLS is single entity, so the players sign contracts with the league. Still, not an unprompted word of support from team management for Wynne or a statement of solidarity from Captain Wondo. Merely silence. Disappointing.
The team has not said anything, however, there is this line: "He also remains covered by the league's health insurance, and was in discussions over a front-office job with the Earthquakes." If he gets a job with the Quakes I would say that action says a lot more than words.
Make him a fitness coach. Not even slightly joking. We’d be lucky to have him there. Who knows after that. He could start a path to an actual coaching job
Yes, a front office job would be great for Wynne, if he wants it. How long do the discussions have to last? Couldn't the Quakes have hired him for such a job as soon as he had to retire as a player? It seems like this potential job offer is part of the difficult negotiations that Wynne alludes to in his comments in the article.
He was doing promotional stuff for the Quakes related to the World Cup viewing at Avaya. Don't know if that's part of a regular job or not.
From our favorite cat lover to yours, happy #InternationalCatDay from @marvwynne22! pic.twitter.com/S1J0vyZWdn— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) August 8, 2018