So this week has been rather interesting. I was offered a contract for a job in Syria. You know Syria, the country right next to Iraq? The country that I would spend the next six months in, with no weapons to defend myself besides the limited martial arts training I received when I was ten. But, I mean beggars can’t be choosers right? After some convincing to my wife I had accepted my current fate. However that all ended when I received the contract.
As many overseas basketball players can verify, contracts aren’t always the solid agreements we think. The horror stories of these documents not being honored, and players leaving with less money then they were promised are rampant. So when a contract comes that already looks shady, a red flag usually pops up in my brain.
This contract had to be the most con F**KING voluted thing I have ever seen. Written half in Arabic and half in broken English, it mentioned little about my perks and plenty about fines and agent fees. At least the part about my bonuses was as non descriptive as the part about my safety. That’s always a good sign…They are going to ship me off to a country currently on a US government travel warning list, with no regards to my personal well-being…Thanks.
Although everything in Syria is not negative. I was intrigued by the history and beauty of this country. I think alot of views I have on the middle east might not be warranted. It seems like the only problems I would have encountered would be from snakes, evil archaeologists and Nazis.
However, after hearing about quite a few contract dispute nightmares from players who had played there, I decided to pass. So, like last year I start the New Year still waiting.
Unfortunately this doesn’t help the feeling like I have been kicked in the stomach. It is a tough decision to turn down any playing job. I have worked too hard to let opportunities come and go. So now I keep my cell phone close, waiting for the call that will send me to a place which hopefully doesn’t require me to fill out a will prior to leaving.
