“Treating Athletes Like Low Level Peasants”: Us Track Star Unpaid for 8 Months Gets Fans’ Support

The world of athletics is often seen as a realm of glory and achievement, where athletes’ hard work is rewarded with recognition and financial stability. However, the reality can sometimes be starkly different. 

Recently, a US track star found himself in a challenging predicament as after going unpaid for eight months, sparking outrage among fans and raising questions about the treatment of athletes in the sports industry. This situation aptly shed light on the complexities and struggles that athletes can face behind the scenes, despite their public success on the field.

Kyree King’s unpaid months raise concerns in athletics

It seems the US sprinter Kyree King has had enough as he took to his Instagram Stories and shared a picture of the unpaid bill. The update that saw him expressing rage toward the team management with the caption, “It’s gotta stop . Eight months for 2 bands…..Not weeks but 8 fucking months”, soon made its way to X. A user named Track Spice reposted Kyree King Instagram story with caption, “Kyree King🗣️”.

If we dig a little deeper, it is reportedly not the first time that the U.S. management has troubled its athletes with regard to compensation. Even Kyree King, who once attended three different colleges, namely, Mount San Antonio College, Western Kentucky, and Oregon, reportedly was transferred due to funding cuts to programs to have better competition. 

Kyree King was the first athlete to qualify in four events at the NCAA East Preliminaries at Western Kentucky. Winning the 2017 Pac-12 Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, he won Pac-12 titles in the 100m, 200m, and 4X100 m relay race that year. In 2020, he ran 100 m at Montverde Academy, Florida in 10.04 seconds, earning 9th position in the worldwide list. In the 2022 NACAC Championship, he also won the silver medal in the 100m race and won gold in the 4X100m relay race. Recently in the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Eugene, Oregon, King had made it to the semi-finals of the 100m and 200m competitions. 

With such promising performances, Kyree King’s grievance didn’t go unnoticed as fans promptly took to social media to express their displeasure.

Fans are rallying behind Kyree King amid financial struggles

Amidst Kyree King’s challenging financial situation, fans have shown remarkable support for the track star. Many fans criticized how the sports industry handles athlete compensation. They pointed out the stark difference between sports’ huge revenues and athletes’ financial struggles, which is especially noticeable in cases like Kyree King’s. A fan outraged after seeing this commented,

Onya Marx, another track star, expressed frustration with the sports industry after the turn of events and wrote,

Yet another fan made a comparison with the Diamond League and turned into a critic, writing, 

A fan who was shocked by this news commented in anger, 

Another track athlete, Christian Eason, who was happy about the management getting exposed and wanted more athletes to come forward stated,

Hopefully, Kyree King’s situation will be sorted out as soon as possible. Having said that, have you or anybody you know faced a similar situation? Let us know in the comments below!