I like your sports writing analogy and I am very much not a sports person. And it's well written. My favorite part of your story was the glimpse into a profession I've never given a moment's thought to.

Usually, a decent story that doesn't take off comes down to one or more of three reasons: title, topic, opening.

Your title says exactly what the story is about but doesn't compel the reader to click. I'd start there. Maybe with something like, "Sports Writers are treated like gods. Is that fair?"

Lots of people are going to ignore any story about privilege because they don't want to think about it. Doesn't mean we shouldn't write about it but we will have to work hard to haul them in.

Because of that, I'd rework your opener a bit to make it more compelling.