General Forum

Some people have mentioned the inverse of the original idea, and I would agree that there are definitely people I collect because of the good things they do, whether it be off the field or on. Buck O'Neil was mentioned yesterday in the Negro Leagues/Major Leagues post, and he is someone I will go out of my way to collect.

Drew Bledsoe is another example for me. I don't usually strive to collect players once they leave Boston, but Bledsoe handled his departure with such grace and class that I will collect cards of him in any jersey.

Like a few here generally No. For set collecting I don't let the player's personal lives and events interfere with my enjoyment of the cards. However, I will not pay an extra premium if I need that player's card to complete a set. Their actions off the field are not a factor in price to me. I also won't go out of my way to get any autograph cards if they had already signed some.

I'm in the minority, I guess. I wont collect someone I find to be heinous.  When I added all missing Buccaneers to my wantlist, I immediately went in and removed all the Kellen Winslow Jr cards.  Like my profile page says, I consider a set complete without Ray Rice and his sort.

I dont use social media, and I dont watch Sports Center, so I dont really know political views of many athletes.  I think Kaepernick is a piece of garbage, so I wont collect him though.  But supporting a different candidate than me is what this country was built upon, so I dont hold that against a person.  Most of my closest friends voted different than me last month.

Hmmm .... good point... maybe I will add Kap to my wantlist!

Like Dan

No, my collecting habits haven't changed based on someone else's actions (and certainly not because of their politics/religion).

At times it feels like the politics is taking over the sports part.  Not into social media or most sports channels.  Just my Huskers this year.  Yes there are a few bad boys that were Huskers. but I still collect them. 

As a fan of the Green Bay Packers since the 1960s, I've always collected the players when they wore the jersey, but not after they left the team. For instance, I have plenty of Brett Favre cards, just not any with him in a Jets or Vikings jersey. Disgraced players like Mark Chmura are still in my collection, because I collect football cards, not "lives of the players" cards. I really can't stand either political party, so politics of a player are unimportant.

There is only one player in the NFL that I find so distasteful, arrogant, smug, and self-important that I won't have him in my collection and that is John Elway. He got off to a bad start with the whole "I won't play for the Colts" crap, the childish behavior with the Broncos, and his ineptitude running the organization is just too much. He's a black hole in my collection.

depending on the situation, whats transpired, and if i really want to stay with the person- it may sway my mind to change from the collector to investor >>> moreso with modern day players than old timers

Bill Glass and Pat Combs are former Baylor Bears, who I collect (although I haven't catalogued my Combs collection), and I can attest to their character. Few have lived a servant's life more than Bill Glass...an amazing gentleman.

Yes if on the field no matter what side you are on. I watch sports like most to get away with the events of the day or week and don't want to see politics take part at a sporting event. Reason I quit collecting FB ever since CK

Now off the field the can express whatever views that have. Just like me I can't express my views at work but away then yes so the played and team members should not express their views at work as well. 

I collect to tell the history of whatever I'm collecting, usually sports in cards. The ultimate goal is the creation of an actual brick and mortar museum/hall of fame for trading cards. So that has to include everything and everyone, good or bad. I've already begun working towards it although it's still probably a decade or two away from becoming reality. IF I can even pull it off, there's no guarantee I will be successful.

I became Facebook friends with my former favorite NASCAR driver. I wish I hadn't...he isn't the kind of person I thought he was. But I still built a model of one of his cars this year, even though the enthusiasm wasn't quite what it once was, it can't take away from how important that time period was in my life, the enjoyment I got watching him in the 1990s. What that car itself meant to me. So I built it anyway. It's a snapshot of time, not an endorsement of the things he says.