This is Jerry Wells, from Old School 100.3:
To say that the NFL has an image problem these days is the understatement of the year. The off-the-field behavior of some players has dominated the news in recent weeks, creating a public relations nightmare that even Olivia Pope would run away from. There’s no excuse for any man beating or brutalizing a woman or a child, much less a big 200 plus pound bench-pressing, strength training professional athlete; unless she’s coming at you with a gun or some other weapon, intent on doing you harm. Even street hustler turned hip-hop mogul Jay Z was able to restrain himself under full attack from his sister in law in his well-known elevator incident. These incidents and allegations involving Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Jonathan Dwyer, and others are ugly and should never have happened, but what’s also troubling is the League’s behavior afterward.
The NFL’s response pattern seems to be to administer a slap on the wrist, go back to business as usual, hope there isn’t too much public outcry and if there is, well, lie! Did anyone believe Commissioner Roger Goodell’s claim that league officials didn’t see the whole video of Ray Rice punching his wife until the public did? I certainly didn’t! My opinion is – he’s a liar and he needs to go – immediately! The league’s penalties only got stepped up when the evidence became public and fans and more importantly, sponsors protested. Witness Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson, being suspended, then reinstated, then suspended again, after Anheuser Busch and other sponsors’ spoke out about it. They spend over a billion dollars advertising on NFL telecasts; that got their attention. But don’t think these sponsors are any angels either! By their own admission, they were watching public opinion about these reports and their reaction was based on how people, their customers, responded. It’s still all about the money – no surprise there, but what about doing something just because it’s the right thing to do? What about upholding a high standard of behavior regardless of whether TMZ finds out or not? Is that too much to ask of the biggest, highest grossing sport in the country? Is it too much to ask of these star athletes who make millions entertaining us with their skills on the field? Is it, really? I certainly hope not!
This is Jerry Wells, and I’m just sayin!
