"I'm fine that he has a little hobby," said Claire Rivard. "But hobbies don't pay the bills. At least not the bills on a third home in Vail or a fleet of private jets. I've looked at what NBA players make and the average salary is only a few million a year. Even the best players top out around $30 million or so with endorsements. It's no way to live."
Mrs. Rivard says she recently sat her son down and had a talk without him.
"He wasn't very receptive," she said. "He has this dream to play in the NBA. You know who put that into his head? That Jeremy Lin. His parents must be humiliated. He could have been a brain surgeon and he's playing basketball somewhere in Texas. The shame that family must have. I simply want my son to do something with his life."
Rivard says he wants to see how far basketball takes him.
"I guess I'm idealistic, but I want to follow my dream to play in the NBA," he said. "If that means making only a few million a year and living in some $900,000 McMansion and driving a BMW and marrying some girl for love instead of because her family is well-connected and comes from old money, well … I'll have to live with that decision."
