“Thinking about boycotting the NFL until they stop allowing thugs to play in it. I mean if you are an attorney and you commit a crime you go to jail + get dis-barred, why are murders and dog killers allowed to make 6 mil a year? Aren’t there like at least 5 current players in the NFL who have like literally killed people?”

This sentiment seems to exist in much of the public, and I believe people have this sentiment because they make the common mistake of comparing sports to an everyday job.  To use a cliche, this is like comparing apples to oranges, you can’t compare sports to being an accountant, the environments are so far apart there is no way you can make that comparison.  Let me start by saying that I don’t believe killing someone is right, or fighting dogs and other crimes should be overlooked by society.  But the legal system is in place for a reason, and once you have gone through the process your debt is served.  Increasingly in society this is becoming more than just do your time, it’s do your time then we are going to remind you of what you did for the rest of your life.  That is at the center of the issue, people have taken the mentality that just because they have not committed a crime they are entitled to make more money or do better than people who have committed crimes.  That is the wrong way of looking at things in life, there are many reason some people make millions and others don’t, and it doesn’t matter if they have ever commit a crime or not.  It comes down to one thing in this particular case, and that thing is talent.

Take this into account, if you or someone you cared about had to have life saving surgery and you had two surgeons to choose from.  The first surgeon completed the surgery successfully 97% of the time, and the second surgeon completed the same surgery successfully only 50% of the time.  You choose the first surgeon, but find out before the surgery that the surgeon you chose had been convicted of dog fighting and spent a year in jail.  Would you then all of a sudden put the life of your loved one in the guy that only gets it right 50% of the time??  Of course not because dog fighting has nothing to do with performing a medical procedure, and the surgeon is being paid a 6-figure salary because of his skill fixing the human body and not what he chooses to do on his own time.  The lawyer example given above is a bit different, a lawyer practices law, so of course a person who committed a crime would be disbarred because they either didn’t know the law well enough to not commit a crime or have a total disregard for it.  You can’t have someone like that interpreting the law and defending others if they didn’t have the judgment to keep themselves out of jail, another example of this is if you are convicted of robbing a bank you of course have a hard time getting a job dealing with handling money.

The NFL is an entertainment outlet that’s it, whether convicted felons or not it does not matter.  NFL teams are about winning games, entertaining fans, and making money passing down legal penalites is up to the legal system.  The NFL does not make the laws and it’s not their responsibility to make people obey the laws, the NFL has an obligation to put the best product on the field.  Would you pay $100 a seat for tickets to a game where the players are no more athletic than you?  I wouldn’t and most people would not either, these players make millions because they have the talent that people are willing to pay top dollar to come and see.  Pro athletes are not role models, parents did that on their own.  It does not matter if thugs are in the NFL people are going to watch regardless because it gives them the oppportunity to forget about their problems and be entertained, and if the NFL only paid $10 an hour, no one would care if thugs were in the league.  But because millions of dollars are being paid to players and most people won’t see millions during their entire career they tend to forget that talent isn’t something you can go to school and get a degree for.

I work with several people who have criminal records for varying offenses including beating women, and they still have a job.  Why should that be ok, and not an athlete doing his job of playing football.  If the legal system in our country has said these people have served their time then I don’t see what the big deal is, there are plenty of CEO’s that have stolen millions of dollars and gotten huge severance packages then were hired at another corporation paying them millions.  Where is the uproar over that?!?!  If having ex-convicts in the NFL bothers you that much then don’t watch, find something else to be entertained by.  You can’t have it both ways as a fan, if you want your team to win there are going to be a certain amount of unsavory characters on the team, you can have a team of all clean cut players and they won’t win, and you won’t support the team.

Written by The Marksman on Sunday, September 13, 2009 

Filed under Money and Business
Tagged with crimes, money, nfl, sports

About The Marksman

The Marksman writes about dating, relationships, love, and the methodology of men and women. For more of his articles, you should visit TheShootingRange.net.

The Marksman has written a total of 25 article(s) for us.