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As the 49ers get ready for OTAs next week, some of their rookies are enjoying a weekend in L.A. with the NFLPA Rookie Premiere. Wide receiver Quinton Patton is down for the event, joining running back Marcus Lattimore and tight end Vance McDonald in getting a little publicity and the chance to do some networking.
The weekend includes a lot of media events, and Patton had some interesting comments for FOXSports.com. Patton told the website that he has been getting calls from friends and distant "relatives" asking for money. This is far from shocking, as Patton joins Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin in getting calls from so-called friends and relatives.
"The people that have been here through thick and thin, that's the people that wait a few days and then they call you. They know that everybody is going to call you [at the beginning]. I got the same treatment as Tavon Austin."
We hear this kind of thing every year, and I hope the fact that Patton and Austin are talking about it publicly means they are not succumbing to the desire to please everybody. It is great to hear about professional athletes helping out their family and close friends, but it is important to learn how to say no, as well.
Obviously it's not my money, so I suppose my opinion doesn't matter. That being said, there are too many stories about former professional athletes ending up broke a few years after their careers end. Sometimes it is their own personal extravagances, and sometimes it is being too good a person, and helping out anybody who comes asking. It is one of many reasons for a professional athlete to be wary.