Bigotry Killed the Football Star (The NFL is Running Out of Chances)

by with No Comment FeaturedSports

In a previous article, I wrote about how successful the National Football League continues to be despite the past several seasons. The National Football League has experienced its fair share of controversial incidents. 

And trust the NFL will be fine, but… being as popular and as important as it is in 2019, will come to an end. 

Gonna use the classic one-hit-wonder song, Video Killed the Radio Star (1979) by the English new wave band The Buggles, to illustrate my point. 

This song has historical significance because it was the first music video aired on MTV, forever changing the landscape of music.

From that point, music was no longer just about making an album, getting radio play, and then going on tour. 

Music videos allowed pre-MTV artists to present themselves to a younger population, and for those apart of the “MTV” revolution, it allowed them to not only build a fanbase through their music, but videos as well (such as MJ’s Thriller). 

Radio, of course, continued, but DJ’s controlling what you heard was now over. That power and control had forever shifted to multiple players.

The NFL seems to be the radio of late whereas the National Basketball Association is MTV, Spotify, SoundCloud, basically anything but the boring radio. 

NBA owners and commissioner Adam Silver seem to have the formula for a winning culture, which includes both the players and fan base alike. A formula or culture the NFL simply doesn’t have.

Like radio stations and their bosses caring less about anything not directly linked to increasing their profits, the NFL wants no parts of. 

MTV caved to pressuring from noble English artists like David Bowie to play videos by Black artists like Michael Jackson. Think about that… in 1981, MTV didn’t want to play MJ. Yes, that Michael Jackson… and before you could blink, they came out with Yo! MTV Raps a few years later.

The NBA got rid of racist LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling. The NBA listened to players about playing back-to-back games, and now the NBA is listening to fans to curb players sitting games. 

The NFL on the other hand, we still don’t know what a catch is! And the newly implemented rules to protect the quarterback seem to be the latest change, which isn’t sitting well with their players or fans. 

Disclaimer – I’ve never played organized football. I fully support the NFL’s effort to curb concussions, head injuries, and increase the overall safety in football. However, new rules seem to protect one position the most… the quarterback. 

Why? 

It’s two-fold… the QB is the single most important player in any team sport, BUT (and you know it’s coming)… many believe that because the position of QB is still resoundingly White, more protection must be made to avoid injuries and further their careers. 

This new rule began in 2018. (Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9(b)) calls for a “roughing the passer” penalty when a defensive player lands on a passer “with all or most of the defender’s weight.” In other words, falling on a quarterback is illegal, even when it’s the result of an otherwise legal hit.

Defensive players and surprisingly even former quarterbacks like Steve Young question these new “can’t touch the quarterback” rules.

These rules have changed the course of NFL history, literally. Case and point… last years AFC title game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots, New England QB Tom Brady was gifted a roughing the passer call, which of course led to a touchdown and ultimately a win in overtime. 

Then there’s the incident between Cleveland Browns Lineman Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Mason Rudolph. The helmet swung that has been seen around the world. 

The optics – A big muscle-bound Black man swinging his helmet against a clean-cut White man. 

The facts – both Garrett AND Rudolph contributed to the brawl. Yes, Garrett deserves a heavier punishment for swinging his helmet, but that’s about it. 

The outcome – Out of all players involved only the Black players received suspensions. Rudolph, the White quarterback only received a fine. 

The NFL should be careful… I can see and hear that Buggles music video playing now. 

Similar Read: Corporate Social Justice, By Jay-Z 

Kareem Hunt and the Power of Belief

by with No Comment FeaturedSports

The short story, “The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether” by Edgar Allan Poe, appeared in the November 1845 issue of Graham’s Magazine. Most literaries wouldn’t cite it as one of their favorites, but it did produce one of the most famous cliche lines ever… “Believe nothing you hear and only one half that you see.” That line was delivered by the head of a private hospital for the mentally ill, which also happens to be the setting of the story. Simply, he was referring to the gossip of others. The head of the institution attempts to place wisdom into one of the patients who is unsure of who to trust and what to believe because of gossip in the hospital.

A combination of opinions, bias, fear, and a host of other elements play into who and what we believe… and the recent Kareem Hunt incident is no different. 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard and/or seen the viral video of Kansas City Chiefs star running back Kareem Hunt shoving and then attempting to kick a woman in a hotel hallway. There should be no debate on what we all saw in the video… but… like with everything else, what some believe will determine the fate of Mr. Hunt and if he should ever be allowed to play in the NFL again. 

For a long time, major historical events have been captured on film. Viewing historical events creates takeaways, takeaways generally aligned with preconceived notions and beliefs. When belief is placed ahead of facts and logic, the results can be terrifying. Not sure what I’m referring to? Well let’s go down memory lane and look at a few historical events in which the video recording clearly showed one thing, yet the aftermath and subsequent events did not fall in line with the recording. 

  • Rodney King beating by five members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The 1991 video recording still wasn’t enough to convict the police officers of excessive force. The jury did not believe the five White officers used race when factoring in the beating of King, instead of following LAPD protocols. 
  • From the mid-1990s until the end of the 2000s, the United Nations sent weapons experts to inspect and determine if Iraq had any weapons of mass destruction. Despite numerous reports AND video recordings of the inspectors showing no signs of active production of weapons of mass destruction, the George W Bush Administration double-downed on its belief that Iraq was linked to sponsoring terrorism against the United States and that it would provide terrorist organizations WMD’s, thus justifying an invasion of Iraq. Thousands of lives lost, billions of dollars spent, and many many many years later, NO such WMD’s have ever been found.
  • We’ve seen this countless times before with police shootings, and the all lives matter crowd famously pushing back with “we weren’t there” and “we don’t know all the facts yet.” Responses designed to circumvent the racial elements in questionable police shootings and to uphold the belief that if the person would have obeyed commands, stated their blood type, and recited the alphabet backward… the victim would still be alive today.

As we can see, those with the ability to control the outcome of incidents will do so to favor and confirm their beliefs. 

Now back to Hunt… 

The video showing Hunt assaulting a woman drums up the infamous Ray Rice video in which he assaulted his then fiancé in a casino elevator. After the offseason altercation with his fiancé, Ray Rice started the following season suspended; however, during his suspension, the casino elevator video was leaked by TMZ. The imagery of Ray Rice knocking out his fiancé was too much to be unseen, and Rice never played in the NFL again. That video forever changed the consequences of domestic violence in all sports, a change welcomed by all if applied appropriately.

Hunt’s fate is still unknown at this point; however, the circumstances should be viewed differently. Hunt’s assault wasn’t domestic, which isn’t and shouldn’t be viewed the same. Hunt’s assault was the result of racial slurs from the woman who also attempted to strike him. The suspension and release of Hunt from the Kansas City Chiefs right after the video leaked is valid. Having consequences for conduct unbecoming of a professional athlete is warranted and necessary. However, the beliefs and preconceived notions behind seeing a 5’11 200-pound Black man striking a 5’3 135-pound White woman is one that will probably place longer and harsher punishment on Hunt than it should. Hunt deserves punishment of some sort, and after such punishment, he should be allowed to play in the NFL again, obviously with strict guidelines regarding his off-field behavior. Anything more than that is a slap in the face of fairness.