“You Played Semi-Pro, Right?” Why That Question Hits Harder Than You Think
Let’s clear something up…If you get paid to play a sport, you are a professional. That’s literally what the fucking word means. The moment money hits your account because you laced them up and went to work on a court, a field, a pitch…whatever, then you are a pro.
There are however, different levels of professional. But to call someone “semi-pro” because you’ve never heard of the league, or because they played overseas, or because they’re not on ESPN every night, isn’t just factually wrong…it’s kind of dickish.
Semi-Pro vs. Pro: What’s the Actual Difference?
It really comes down to one word…livelihood.
Pro means that is your job. You train, you play, you recover, and you do it again until your joints snap. That’s how you pay rent. That’s how you eat. That’s how you support your family. That’s how you buy fancy shit. That’s how you go on vacation and do everything that a normal person does with the money they collected from their non semi-pro jobs.
Semi-pro means you might get a little money to play, but you’re also bartending on the weekends. Or working construction during the day and suiting up like Batman at night. You have a second (and often primary) job that keeps you afloat.
It doesn’t mean you aren’t good. It doesn’t mean you don’t train hard. It just means the game isn’t paying all your bills. That’s the “semi” part.
“Wait…You Were Playing Where? So, Like…Semi-Pro?”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this one.
Someone finds out I played basketball overseas.
Then they ask the follow-up: “Were you playing like, semi-pro?”
And I’m like…”No motherfucker! I was making six figures in a country where I had no expenses…I was saving money. I had a team car, an apartment paid for and was doing TV interviews in a language I barely spoke, while walking past a life size cardboard cutout of myself at the end of the grocery store aisle.
That’s not semi-pro…That’s pro. That was my job. That was my life.”
While I never actually say that, opting instead to kindly gloss over it and thoroughly explain that my extraordinary physique played a large role in my life, it still hurts.
Why It Stings
You ever talk to an academic, who gets really mad when you don’t call them a doctor, despite them being a word doctor and not a medical doctor? It’s not so much about the pride, but more the recognition.
When someone calls it “semi-pro,” what they’re really saying is:
“I’ve never heard of your league, so it must not matter.”
“You weren’t in the NBA, so it doesn’t count.”
“You probably had to work at Subway on your off days.”
And I get it, if you’re not in the sports world, the overseas world sounds like a mystery. But here’s the thing…Just because something doesn’t happen in front of American cameras doesn’t mean it’s bullshit.
Playing overseas is not a hobby, it’s a job. One that takes you thousands of miles from home and puts your body through hell.
A magical place where contracts can disappear overnight, and your paycheck might bounce, and where you have to figure out how to adapt in a country where you don’t speak the language or know the laws or even the food.
That’s not semi-anything.
The Gray Area: Where It Does Get Tricky
Now let’s be fair, the pro/semi-pro line can get blurry.
There are leagues overseas where guys are getting paid just enough to cover their groceries, while living in a shared apartment. Some of them are young players trying to get their foot in the door. Some are veterans taking whatever job they can get to stay in the game.
And sometimes, they are working side gigs like coaching youth teams, delivering food, or teaching English just to get by.
There are leagues like that in Europe. In South America. In Asia. Even in the U.S. with some of the smaller circuits.
And I’ve played in those leagues too.
Not every contract was glamorous.
Not every situation felt stable.
There were times I was technically a pro, but the money sure as hell didn’t feel like it.
But even then, I was still clocking in every day. I was still showing up to practice, traveling to games, sacrificing holidays and family time to chase the thing I’d been dreaming about since I was a kid.
Maybe the pay didn’t match the label. But the commitment and sacrifice was never “semi.”
So What Do You Say?
Here’s the deal. If you’re talking to someone who played overseas, or really, anyone who made a living from their sport, just say:
“Oh, you played pro ball?”
If they want to break down where and how and who they played for, in a random Costco line, so be it.
If they were semi-pro, they’ll probably say that themselves, but don’t lead with an assumption…Especially one that sounds like a backhanded compliment.
For the Ones Living It Right Now
To the ones overseas right now, whether you’re making $10K a month or 500 bucks and a handshake, keep doing your thing.
Because you know what you’re sacrificing and you know what it took to even get on that plane. You know the difference between hobby and hustle.
So when someone asks, “Wait, you were playing semi-pro?”
Just smile.
And remember…they wouldn’t last a week in your shoes.