It’s the question on every fan’s mind, what with the slew of arrests and allegations against players for all sorts of atrocious crimes, coupled with the already-known health effects of the game.
Personally, I’m still going to watch it. It was shameful that the league only suspended Ray Rice for two games, but now that they have fixed that, it seems that some kind of progress is being made. I don’t blame people who choose to boycott the league but, as I’ve blogged about before, I’ve gotten used to enjoying performances and work by people who were really awful human beings. “Hate the Sinner, Enjoy the Sinner’s Work”, I guess.
It’s not the same, though–it’s tough watching guys who are real scumbags. I think almost every team has at least one guy who has committed some crime.
The problem is, if we assume that it’s the popularity–and thus profitability–of the sport that makes some players feel so arrogant and spoiled that they think they’re above the law, then following some new sport instead will just make those people the same way. There’s really no part of the entertainment industry that’s free from criminals.
I have no doubt that soon–maybe in the next decade–football’s popularity will start to wane. We’ve just been through the “golden age” of football over the past 15 years, and so a decline is inevitable. As I’ve said before, it will probably be replaced by virtual sports.
Football has always had the Neanderthals. It’s just a new world where privacy is rarely an option anymore. Can you imagine the people we have idolized through the years, not knowing what went on after they entertained us? I don’t think we’d have too many heroes. As for football, even though I have not watched one game this season, ya can’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Or, can you? Not everyone is an ass. Just seems we and media glom on to that. That is a whole other issue though. (LOL. This is my post for Monday, I guess. )
Remember Lantz Rentsel of the Cowboys, married to Joey Heatherton and arrested for exposing himself to a little girl? It was the jokes that destroyed his career. Q. what’s his best pattern? A: The down and out or fly pattern. Ridicule has more power than shaming, but shaming is better than ignoring the problem and maybe the example of top athletes losing everything because of abusing women and children will filter down to the general population.
The majority of the players come from the ghetto and gangs. Just because they can and love to hit other people at full speed doesn’t make them any less that their environment molded them to be or that what’s happening today is anything new, it’s just more visible and now the NFL can’t wink at it anymore.
I have read people wondering why women who are abused marry the abuser. Simple answer: Wives can’t be forced to testify against their husband, but wives can divorce their husband and get alimony, child support etc.
To Patrick:
Wow, rather bold statement as to why wives stay with abusers. I respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree. I have seen so many stories about women fighting (and getting nowhere) to get child support from professional athletes, actors…. And I will concede that I believe a whole lot of women marry athletes thinking life will be a bowl of money, but to simplify that money is the reason women stay, no way. It’s so complex and strange. Gotta be in their shoes to understand.
I don’t know. One bad seed. Don’t spoil the batch of apples. Many Football players do great things. We forget sometimes. Men and women in the spotlight can screw-up. No perfect people. Just us doing our best. Football won’t die. Young women and men will mess up. Need proper mentors. A mentor is a Grandfather, father or person of respect to learn from. I was lucky. I had good mentors. I like the answer of one pro-player. I will pray for them and their family. Destroying a life doesn’t fix all problems.
I agree. And the bad examples inevitably get more attention than the good ones. It makes it seem like they are all criminals when really, as you point out, there are plenty of good people in the league.
Was a good man name Billy Martin. He heard of a great baseball player in prison. He went and accepted responsibility for Ron Leflore. Ron had a good career. He saved a man and showed the world. People are not perfect. Need to be saved.