"Protect the Shield" is the number 1 job of the folks in the offices at the NFL.
Football season is nigh upon us. The unofficial start to the season, the annual release of the
Madden football video game, occurred this week and the
official kickoff game is next Thursday. In a brief break from politics, Wide World of Sports decided to take a look at what the season might have in store off the field.
The National Football League is close to a year-round national obsession. Fans can watch games, play fantasy football and even get news directly from the league's own tv channel. Simply put, professional football is big business and, like every other industry in the US, the NFL has a lot of skeletons it would prefer to keep in the closet.
The NFL earned
"just north of" $9 billion last year. The league makes money in a myriad of ways, most notably from the
$6 billion it earned from television rights.
But there are issues. There are drug issues, both performance enhancing and recreational. There is the concussion issue. There is homophobia and there is bullying.
And there are domestic violence issues. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to the league's 32 teams on August 28, 2014 to address them in particular.
Goodell didn't waste much time before addressing the 2 game suspension of Ray Rice after he was caught on tape
dragging his unconscious fiance out of a hotel elevator.
My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment, and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families.
I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values.
I didn't get it right.
Simply put, we have to do better. And we will.
Is this letter part of an honest effort to address the issue of domestic violence? Or is it simply a PR whitewash? Only time will tell but, as I said, there are a lot of issues to address and we thought we would take a look at some of them here.
THE Story of the Offseason
Ray Rice's
2 game suspension sparked outrage across the sports world last month. From a league that suspends first time marijuana use for 4 games, the length of the suspension
drew criticism from many quarters. ESPN commentator Stephen A Smith even
sparked his own controversy with his
reaction to the
reaction.
Just to recap, Rice was caught on camera dragging his unconscious fiance out of an elevator at an Atlantic City casino.
It would seem that one of the things that forced this story into the public consciousness is the existence of the video. Well, that and the dogged work of the
drama pimps good people at
TMZ.
Goodell defended his decision to suspend Rice for 2 games.
"We just can’t make up the discipline,” Goodell said. “It has to be consistent with other cases. And it was in this matter.”
The reaction was wide ranging. Three US senators
sent Goddell a letter expressing their displeasure. Also, two groups
organized petitions, signed by 100,000 people asking the NFL to change it's policies.
“The NFL has a serious domestic abuse problem that it has failed miserably at addressing,” Shaunna Thomas, the co-founder of UltraViolet, said in the release. “Their reaction to the Ray Rice case is nothing short of shameful. Yet, is also sadly predictable as the league has made very clear that it is fine looking the other way when it comes to cases of domestic abuse. It is far past time the NFL clean up it’s act and learn to respect women.”
Addressing the Issue?
The new NFL domestic abuse policy will apply to all employees of the NFL in addition to employees of the various teams, not just the players. Again from Goodell's letter:
“Effective immediately, violations of the Personal Conduct Policy regarding assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault that involve physical force will be subject to a suspension without pay of six games for a first offense, with consideration given to mitigating factors, as well as a longer suspension when circumstances warrant.”
Allison McCann at FiveThirtyEight looked at NFL suspensions from the numbers to understand NFL suspensions for various reasons.
"The NFL’s Uneven History Of Punishing Domestic Violence" is well worth the read.
A six-game suspension, according to data collected by FiveThirtyEight, would be four times what the average suspension has been for domestic violence and an unprecedented consequence for a first offense of any kind.
Of course, the exact definition of "mitigating factors" remains to be seen.
THE Story That Got Lost in the Shuffle
I will let Brian Phillips over at Grantland sum up the backstory for you.
The Dolphins have, or maybe had, a 24-year-old left tackle named Jonathan Martin. And they have, or maybe had, a 30-year-old left guard named Richie Incognito.
Last week, Martin left the team to seek help for emotional issues. Then allegations emerged that Incognito had been bullying him. Hazing him, if that word makes you feel better.
Incognito did not just simply play some pranks on a rookie, as is NFL tradition. That would
"just" be hazing: duck taped to a goalpost, strange haircuts, Gatorade showers (also while being duck taped) and various "pranks" involving modes of transportation. One is almost forced to wonder what the NFL obsession with duck tape is all about.
No, Incognito went further than that. He left disgusting voicemails (that can be found in Phillips' piece) and delivered plenty of personal insults and further threats of violence. The subject of all of this harassment? Incognito assumed that Martin was gay, although he also made room to address Martin's race.
Incognito was rightly suspended and subsequently cut by the Miami Dolphins. Martin is trying to "make the cut" with the San Francisco 49ers.
Quietly Allowed to Return
Richie Incognito has been cleared to play again by the NFL! Of course he doesn't have a team but that should be "fixed" sometime soon as Incognito is apparently good at his job. The greatest sin in the NFL, after all, is not being good at your job. Again, Philips says it better than I can.
Warriors make war on warriors. There’s no room for crying in this game. You have a problem, you handle it on the field. Handle it as a man. Go down swinging.
I hear you, NFL, and that’s why I’m not here to move you or persuade you. If you have a penis and feelings, you’d better cut one of them off. I’m here to start a fight.
Apparently, the second greatest sin in the NFL is being in touch with your feelings and admitting a weakness. Of course it relates to sin #1. Being in touch with your feelings might make you not as good at your job.
THE Story That Always Gets Short Shrift
Concussions are the NFL's
"Dirty Little Secret". The number of former players who have been
diagnosed with, suspected to have had and
suspected to have died as a result of concussions is long.
According to one report, there were at least 152 concussions in 2013. Clearly the problem continues to be a problem for the NFL, indeed for anyone who plays football at any level.
The NFL recently settled a lawsuit thousands of former players that will last for 65 years and cover former players, most of whom played long before the era of multi-million dollar contracts, who are diagnosed with diseases such as ALS and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and dementia.
CTE is the big one. It seems to affect a large number of players, especially at the professional level where every play has been described as a full speed automobile crash. The picture below shows the physical toll that CTE has on the human brain.
[CTE] is believed to stem from repeated blows to the head and has been linked to a variety of symptoms, such as memory loss, depression and dementia.
The condition has been discovered in dozens of former football players, including San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau and Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster.
Former NFL player Joe DeLamielleure absolutely believes that his diagnosis of CTE at the UCLA Medical Center is a direct result of playing football.
“This is a job-related injury for me,” said DeLamielleure. “There’s no other way I got it. I didn’t go pounding my head into the wall. I didn’t do drugs. I didn’t drink. I didn’t get punched in the head one time. It’s from continuous hits to the head.”
THE Story To Watch For on Saturday
The question is,
will Michael Sam make the Rams' 53 man roster. The decision will be made by 4:00 PM this Saturday when the league mandated cut to the offial roster size is due.
Sam is in competition with Ethan Westbrooks for the 5th Defensive lineman spot. According to one reporter, all either of them has done is "make plays since the preseason began".
Why should you care?
Well, depending on who you ask, you probably shouldn't.
The thing about Michael Sam is this, he is gay. Sam would be the league's first openly gay player. That is at least noteworthy.
That is a big thing in a league where Richie Incognito might still have a job.