Silver linings
Josh Gordon's suspension has officially been reduced to 10 games. While that is still a lengthy ban, getting the wide receiver on the field in 2014 will be a boon to the Cleveland Browns in the long run. Read- Dolphins' Dion Jordan suspended 4 games for substance abuse
- Petition filed seeking protective order for Adrian Peterson's son
- Goodell plans to change personal conduct policy | Full statement
- McCown to have second opinion, could have ligament damage
- NFL scout: Winston a 'fraud,' has hurt draft stock 'significantly'
- Gordon ban cut to 10 games under new drug policy | Key changes
- Chiefs' Charles practices, to split work with Davis? | Injury report
- Stanton will start for Cardinals vs. 49ers | John Abraham put on IR
- Fines roundup: Jets' Wilkerson docked $20K for fight, ejection
Maybe the NFL should just cancel the season and spend the winter months rewriting their "code of conduct" policy for players and all involved in the game. Sheesh!
Has America gone mad or what? These are sports figures playing a game for a living, not catholic priests who minister to our souls. I just don't understand how in a culture that allows children to play some of the most violent video games, watch the most violent television and movie shows and air some of the most sexist and violent advertisements you could imagine find themselves shocked when a segment of that culture is found displaying the exact behavior found in consumer products being marketed to them.
Some football players are doing what all segments of our society do; they behave badly, make mistakes and are sometimes caught doing so. There are doctors, lawyers, politicians, priests, policemen, business men and women who have been caught at their worst. Most of these professions hold a public trust in society and are therefore held to a higher standard. Athletes might choose to perform public and charitable service, but most are not required to do so. And seldom are their crimes committed on the playing field.
And let us not forget that there are a limited number of professional athletes playing in any sport, whereas other professions list hundreds of thousands practicing their craft. Maybe the percentage of football players arrested per capita is much higher than any of the groups I've mentioned, but I think it says more about the people they attract than the players themselves. Hollywood is full of actors and actresses behaving badly and yet we as consumers are quick to forgive them their trespasses as we rush out to see their latest blockbuster movie.
So what is this eyes on the NFL behaving badly really all about? Money and jealousy; perhaps. Truths and lies; maybe. Sponsors running scared; definitely.
During football season just about every known product advertised throws in a football angled ad. Everybody gets into the act when it comes to the NFL, because its where the money is at. Here's one aimed at appealing to feminine beauty:
The NFL's mistake was that they started marketing the game as a fun for the family event and became powerful enough to sweep the 'not so family fun episodes' under the rug. Well folks, that rug has gotten lumpy and bumpy with piles of dirty debris and now the watchdogs, always on the prowl for hidden dirt, are looking with eyes wide open and mouths salivating.
Has anyone found out how much TMZ paid and/or profited from releasing the Ray Rice surveillance footage? They should be forced by congressional hearing to reveal their source. You seriously don't think they did it for the good of bringing a domestic violence offender to justice do you? Money. Watching the footage says as much about us as it does about Ray Rice and the NFL. And yes, Casinos have become the great American escape to the land of opportunity. Except instead of poor immigrants traveling to work and worship freely, you have spoiled citizens traveling to party and get richer quicker.
Imagine if the NFL did decide to cancel christmas and shutdown their show for the rest of the season. How would you spend your winter? How would all those football analysts, journalists, talk show hosts, commentators and others making a living off the talents of these athletes make the money they're accustomed to each season?
It would probably teach us all a very good lesson about throwing stones in glass houses. Because to me a season without football would be a dead and dry season. Basketball and Hockey would have a field day as other entertainment would vie for the consumer's idle football Money. Money that became available when America got a peek at itself and didn't like what it saw in the mirror.
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