It is always interesting to me how many times we want to push our aging stars into retirement. How is that we know when is the right time? Isn’t it up to the performer to call it a day? Sure, they may have lost a step, but they were five steps better than most their whole career.

Their organization may decide to trade them for business reasons, and I hate that. Babe Ruth in a Cubs uniform, Joe Montana a KC Chief or how about this? Could you imagine Mickey Mantle in anything but pinstripes? Or, Willie Mays in any color but orange and black?

There’s more to any profession than on the field or court. There’s in the locker room, or at practice or on the road. Those veteran stars usually have the primary ingredient for a relationship—RESPECT. Magic Johnson, the Los Angeles Lakers star, was asked by sportswriters if he thought it was time for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to retire. His curt reply was this, “Kareem is worth more just standing on the court than most going full out. It is called presence.”

It is the individual’s choice, whatever the reasons. We don’t want to be stuck in the past, but we surely need to honor it. Jerry West and Sandy Koufax were criticized for “retiring too soon.” Both felt they couldn’t be their best, so it was time to go. That was who they were. Everyone’s experience is a little different.

I have been working with athletes and teams for the past 30 years and for the most part they are poor historians. The people who preceded them paid the dues for those coming after. They were great athletes and would be great today. The great Byron Nelson won a ton of tournaments and, yes, did so with wood shafted clubs. I think he could keep up if he were playing today.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the latest retiree, the long-time voice of the L.A. Dodgers, Vin Scully. The best-ever retired on his own terms. His smooth-as-silk delivery will be missed. People in the business world need to wake up. You need those vets. They are not a victim of age. They are a victim of lack of respect.
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