Originally Posted by
Newton_14
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The problem in my view is the definition of "amateur". Just hear me out here please. If this is stupid and simple-minded then so be it. Here is my definition of "amateur". To me, if a shoe company pays a kid while he is still in high school, that most definitely does not make the kid a pro or "Non-Amateur" in my opinion. A "Professional"/"Non-Amateur" to me, is a player that has played in a professional league drawing a salary. ....
This isn't a rock, or anything close to it, but I don't think we can all just make up our own definition of what "amateur" means. There should be a definition that everybody can agree upon. Once upon a time, I played a lot of amateur golf. I was assured that if I took cash (any amount whatsoever) as a prize for winning a golf tournament, I would no longer be an amateur. I was allowed to take credits to the pro shop, but only up to a certain dollar amount that everybody had agreed upon. If I was offered anything beyond that and I accepted said offer, I would no longer be considered an amateur and would no longer be able to compete in amateur tournaments. I didn't have to join a professional tour to lose my amateur status. All I had to do was be PAID for playing the sport. I would not be a "pro," but I would also no longer be an "amateur."
"We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust