In recent weeks the NFL has come under fire for the stances they have taken with a few of their players’ recent transgressions.
First we have Baltimore Raven’s Ray Rice who was seen in a video knocking out his then fiancee (now wife) in a casino elevator earlier this year. The initial video showed Rice dragging her limp body out of the elevator by her feet. Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, suspended Rice for two games.
With the release of the other video inside the elevator clearly showing Rice punching out his fiancee, Rice was suspended indefinitely and let go by the Ravens. Rice is attempting to get reinstated.
This past weekend came the news of Minnesota Vikings player, Adrian Peterson, who was arrested for child abuse after hitting his four-year old child with a tree branch, leaving marks on the boy’s body. The team suspended, reinstated and then suspended Peterson.
The only reason Peterson was suspended the last time is due to sponsors backing out not because of the child abuse!
San Fransisco 49’er, Ray McDonald, was arrested over two weeks ago after a clash with his pregnant fiancee who had visible injuries. The NFL did nothing and have allowed McDonald to play. The team has taken a wait and see approach with him.
Cleveland Brown’s player, Josh Gordon, test positive for marijuana and has been suspended for the season. Daryl Washington from the Arizona Cardinals lost his ability to play this football season due to to the same thing.
I’m no mathmetician but this sure doesn’t add up to me. How do the punishments fit the crimes? The NFL is saying using cannabis is far worse than abusing a child or woman. Really, NFL?
Pro footlball is America’s favorite sport for the past 30 years. The fans love to watch and the players love to play. Teammates can get their aggressions out on the field while entertaining the crowd. I personally don’t understand the fascination with football to a level where you live and breathe this sport. I can see it as a sport you enjoy and like to watch but many people are obsessed with the sport. But, I digress.
There is a contest being held, “Why do we love football?” The winner will receive tickets to next year’s Super Bowl. A self-proclaimed Patriots fan said in his reply that football has taught him how to live his life, to never give up, and give your all every day, teammwork and good sportsmanship. Is this what football honestly represents?
NFL players behaving badly represents good sportsmanship? How to live your life? How so?
Football players are brutes on the field. But, many are also brutes off the field. Since the last Super Bowl, 28 players have been arrested ranging from resisting arrest to attempted murder. The NFL does very little when their players act badly or poorly, in my opinion.
Which brings me to Michael Vick. Michael Vick, the man who was convicted of bankrolling a dogfighting ring in 2007 and spent time in jail. Vick was not convicted of animal abuse as some people think. Vick ran Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia where the dogfighting took place. When dogs didn’t perform to his satisfaction, Vick helped to kill/murder dogs by shooting, elecrocuting, drowning, slamming dogs against concrete, and hanging them. Talk about brutes. A cold-blooded killer is more like it.
Vick was reinstated to the NFL by Goodell in 2007.
Why does the NFL and the public excuse such horrific behavior? What message is the NFL sending to those who are the victims of such abuse? They’re putting victories ahead of someone’s life who has been threatened physically, or the victim of a possible attempted murder.
What values are we teaching our children? Are we telling boys it’s okay to be like your favorite football “hero” by allowing aggressive behavior on and off the field and treat others with abhorrent and contemptible actions without any real consequences?
When is the NFL going to put lives, whether it be people or animals, before winning?
The bottomline is about money. Once they start losing sponsors, the NFL will be more proactive in doing something. There are thugs, gang members in the NFL who do what they want to whomever they want. They push their weight around on and off the field. Women will stay with a player if they’re making millions. Why would they want to leave that lifestyle? Rice’s wife defends him by saying the media is ruining his career. Rice did this himself and he got caught. The NFL wanted to brush it under the carpet. Suspending Rice only two games and suspending the other players the entire season for using cannabis shows what matters to the NFL. It’s a man’s world and they seem to think they can do what they want and no one has to be the wiser. This is pathetic. Rice’s wife sees nothing wrong with being punched out. I wonder if she’d be singing a different tune if Rice wasn’t making much money.
I wish people would understand Vick went to jail for bankrolling a dogfighting ring-his own and not for the pain and abuse he inflicted upon those dogs.
the NFL does not care about people it cares about money. They got caught because of the media and now they are forced to deal with what they have done or haven’t done 2 players who have broken the law.it doesn’t matter if it has to do with people or animals who have been abused so badly the NFL has disregarded their behavior because the bottom line to them is the Almighty dollar.they have been caughtand now they are forced to do damage control. Had it not beenfor that video surfacingof Ray Rice, the NFL would have continued on without anyone being the wiser. NFLis full of criminal, thugs, and wife beaters who are allowed to get away with their criminal behavior. Until now.they need to stop giving them a pass, and finally punish these people. We need to stop emulating these players.they are not be able to look up to anymore.
the only reason that the NFL is doing anything about this is the video that was shown on the TM Z website . had it not been for this video the NFL and its players would not be under such tight scrutiny . they wouldn’t have done anything about this unless that video didn’t show Ray Rice knocking out his fiance. they had been forced to deal with this because of the public outcry . this has been going on way too long . something should have been done about this a long time ago . and it’s because the NFL cares more about the victories then people . and animals . I am tired of the hypocrisy and the lies and a cover-up that the NFL is guilty of . it is way past time for them to be responsible for their actions and the actions of the players off the field.
The NFL’s bottomline is money! They are forced to change their image in light of Ray Rice , Adrian Peterson, etc… but they still won’t put people ahead of the game. They can say they are but it won’t happen. The NFL is the largest sport in the U.S. It brings in the most money and they won’t lose it.