Beckham

For American soccer fans (aka, futbol for the rest of the world), the news that David Beckham is coming to Major League Soccer is huge. His presences will elevate the status ofa league struggling to gain respect on the world stage. Beckham is perhaps the most famous soccer player, and arguably the most famous athlete period, in the world. At 31 years of age, while not in his prime, soccer fans in Los Angeles will still be able to witness an incredibly talented player who has show-cased his skill on some of the most famous teams in the world (Manchester United and Real Madrid, not to mention his stint as captain on England's National Team).

But news of Beckham's contract tempers any excitement this fan might feel. Beckham has signed a 5-year contract worth $250 million dollars. He will earn approximately $1 million per week. And in the first week of his contract where he pockets $1 million dollars an estimated 203,000 young children will die all over the world from hunger and other preventable causes.

It is not David Beckham's fault that children are dying of hunger all over the world. And no one blames Beckham for capitalizing on his skills and maximizing his earning potential. But the very fact that any sports league would sanction the signing of one athlete for $250 million dollars with resources that could dramatically improve the quality of life for literally thousands of young children and adults in impoverished, famine-stricken, war-torn countries is sickening. This is a tragic commentary on how deeply rooted our self-serving, self-glorifying, self-satisfying desires really are.