2014 NFL Season Anti-Thread

[DS729]

I don't get all the boycotting of the NFL it's just 2 players and if you dig deep enough you'll find reasons to boycott almost every major sports league.

So there's something wrong with people who boycott a league that pays savage criminals millions of dollars and then hides all the evidence of their various crimes? That sounds like there's plenty of reasons to boycott the league. And there's more than 2 players we're talking about here.

[FiddySicks]

I don't really understand all of this "I'm done with the NFL!" stuff. Yeah, they have problems, I get that. And they should be criticized. But if you really wanna spend your Sundays, like, antiquing with your wife or something rather than watching football, then have fun, I guess.

[STL FANATIC]

I mean. There's plenty of things to do on Sunday besides football. Like all the things I find to do on other days of the week.

For me, it's not about being done with the NFL, though. I'm (almost) done with the sport of football. The NFL is a big bad corporation (except they're somehow actually a non-profit!), but that's not so different than the many other corporations who produce products that I enjoy.

The problem is that their product is fundamentally flawed to the point of, well, killing people and ruining lives. And the repeated blows actually disgust me. And the knowledge of what the end result of those are disgusts me. And I just don't want to support that.

[The_Admiral]

Lest anyone think I'm new to monocle-dropping, let the record show I haven't watched anything close to a full Bears season since 2009. I'm down to <1 a year now, and that'll only be because it's on somewhere that I am. I've watched zero minutes this year and intend to keep it there.

[monkeypower]

I'm just sticking with the CFL for right now. My NFL interest has waned in recent years and I'm just not keeping up with at all.

If you are thinking about leaving the NFL but still want to watch football, try the CFL. It's a funner game to me, wider fast paced football and the CFL has been more proactive with CTE and CTE research so far, compared to the NFL who denied it existed.

[IceCap]

I don't really understand all of this "I'm done with the NFL!" stuff. Yeah, they have problems, I get that. And they should be criticized. But if you really wanna spend your Sundays, like, antiquing with your wife or something rather than watching football, then have fun, I guess.

I didn't watch anything with the NFL label yesterday. It was surprisingly like every other Sunday since the Super Bowl ended. Life went on and I enjoyed myself. So...yeah.

And I'm done with the NFL not because they employ terrible people but that when those people show how terrible they are the NFL hems and haws.

I mean why is Adrian Peterson still employed? That's the sort of thing that would end most people's' careers. Yet he still has a job because the Vikings are "evaluating the situation." He whipped his son's nutsack until he bled! What the hell is left to evaluate? Yet it's happening because he's a good football player. And that's enough I guess.

If the NFL's moral bar is so low that actions like Adrian Peterson's aren't met with a swift firing then ok. I'm done with your organization.

[LAWeaver]

I don't really understand all of this "I'm done with the NFL!" stuff. Yeah, they have problems, I get that. And they should be criticized. But if you really wanna spend your Sundays, like, antiquing with your wife or something rather than watching football, then have fun, I guess.

There's always NASCAR... (crickets)

[kewp80]

I'm simultaneously part of the problem, and hopefully part of the solution. I can't freaking break my irrational allegiance to my two crappy football teams (Rams & Illini), so I watch their games. But I'm avoiding everything else as best I can, and I'm frequently taking the league and the sport to task.

So I'm a hypocrite. But it is what it is.

Here's something that really annoys me in light of the recent bad light spread on the NFL. What Ray Rice did is awful. What Adrian Peterson did is awful. Same goes for Greg Hardy and probably Ray McDonald. And the way the NFL has handled things has been disgusting.

But probably the worst thing that's come out in the last week is that John Abraham of the Cardinals has left the team and is considering retirement after suffering a concussion because he's been dealing with MEMORY LOSS FOR OVER A YEAR.

The reason I say it's worse than the domestic violence or child endangerment/abuse isn't because those aren't horrifying acts. It's because those have relatively simple solutions, and aren't really a league problem. They don't actually happen at an alarming rate within the league, they just happen, and when they happen, they should be dealt with a hell of a lot stricter. Somehow the NFL has bungled getting to that point, but it doesn't make the ultimate solution any less simple.

But the brain injury situation persists and persists. And their solution has been to stop ignoring it (but still not accept blame for it!), to change the game slightly in a way in which the product isn't as good (but people are brainwashed so they bitch and moan and hand over as much money as ever) and also in which nothing about the brain injury situation actually improves. There is no indication whatsoever that the NFL has any actual intent to solve or improve the brain injury crisis. And that's why I find the Abraham news worse.

Not only do players still continue to suffer the repeated blows that leads to the memory loss, but they're still somehow allowed to get back on the field for some more.

But instead of focusing on that, collective we are outraged over their bungling of handling player discipline, so we're really pissed off while we still watch all the football and we're demanding Roger Goodell is removed so that we can act like all the problems go away when he does.

When in reality that changes next to nothing.

Football is severely flawed, and there's no indication that the leaders of the sport will ever fix it.

I've always said. Take the pads and helmets off and the number of concussions and head injuries would diminish tremendously. Could you imagine guys running full force into other players, leading with their heads (which you're told not to do at an early age in football), if they didn't have the false security that the helmet and pads provide? I'm sure they would probably think twice about it more often and make more sound tackles like we see in rugby. This coming from a guy who played football and received a concussion.

[Norva]

Although there seems to be an endless stream of stories about NFL player arrests and misconduct, this is largely because there are a lot of NFL players (and they’re famous). At the league’s peak (during training camps), there are about 2,560 players attached to NFL teams (limit 80 each). As I’ll show, arrest rates among NFL players are quite low compared to national averages for men in their age range — but there are some types of crimes that trail the pack significantly.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-rate-of-domestic-violence-arrests-among-nfl-players/

I brought this up in a 5 second google search because I had heard that crime rates in the NFL are actually lower compared to average Americans and that seems to hold true despite all the recent hoopla.

[IceCap]

Your average American is going to be fired if he beats his wife or child. That's the difference.

[Norva]

Yeah, I agree. The NFL still messed up bad. Just thought it was a relevant addition to the thread.

[STL FANATIC]

Also, that's why the concussion issue is a bigger deal for me. I don't think the NFL truly has a problem with having too many players arrested (although, Ice is right that they get a much longer leash than a normal employee would). I think it's just really public, and I think they've handled it poorly.

But the concussion issue is more complex and less likely to be solved.

I'm with you, Kewp on removing/limiting the helmets and the pads, but there's no indication whatsoever that's even a consideration.

[Sport]

After decreeing that I wouldn't be spending any money on the NFL I ended up going to the Bengals-Falcons game yesterday. I was in town, some friends were going, and tickets were cheap (free). I feel shame, but also WHODEY.

[infrared41]

To those of you who are vehemently outraged to the point of boycotting the league, I respect your prerogative, but I don't see it's purpose besides satisfying your own personal qualms or making a show of it to hopefully influence a meager handful of others, at best.

- Roger Goodell

I seriously doubt that our understanding of their purpose was at all considered when they made the decision to walk away from the NFL.

I can't believe that's the case with every instance. I think for some, their whole intention is to draw attention. Not saying it's in an attention-whore way at all, but for some it absolutely is a "I'm gonna start the movement" thing. It won't work if you simply say I'm Not Watching.

To destroy the NFL, if that's what you want (and as we discussed on BASS), don't tweet @NFL or write the league office letters or emails. Write their advertisers. Tweet Bud Light that you won't drink another beer so long as Goodell is commish. Email Verizon saying you're switching to Sprint unless they drop their association. Money is the only thing that talks in this world. Playing to the crowd on the honor system is a waste of time.

Speaking of that (as we discussed on BASS) I heard that Lowe's has dropped out as an NFL sponsor.

[mcj882000]

I'm just sticking with the CFL for right now. My NFL interest has waned in recent years and I'm just not keeping up with at all.

If you are thinking about leaving the NFL but still want to watch football, try the CFL. It's a funner game to me, wider fast paced football and the CFL has been more proactive with CTE and CTE research so far, compared to the NFL who denied it existed.

I just want to second this. The talent level's not as high, but it's still very entertaining. Apparently, NBCSN and ESPN 2 & 3 show games in the US. Only drawback is, the season's more than half over now, since it starts in late June.

[nuordr]

Just to let the Anti-NFL people know, Adrian Peterson has been cleared to play in week 3 as the Vikings have re-instated him today.

[DarkJourney]

The Vikings lost so they need him back. As despicable as it is that's the way things work. In the NFL winning supercedes the right thing to do.

[infrared41]

"As evidenced by our decision to deactivate Adrian from yesterday's game, this is clearly a very important issue. On Friday, we felt it was in the best interests of the organization to step back, evaluate the situation, and not rush to judgment given the seriousness of this matter. At that time, we made the decision that we felt was best for the Vikings and all parties involved. "To be clear, we take very seriously any matter that involves the welfare of a child. At this time, however, we believe this is a matter of due process and we should allow the legal system to proceed so we can come to the most effective conclusions and then determine the appropriate course of action. This is a difficult path to navigate, and our focus is on doing the right thing. Currently we believe we are at a juncture where the most appropriate next step is to allow the judicial process to move forward.

In other words - "We got our asses kicked on Sunday so we're going with the classic 'due process' excuse."

[OnWis97]

"As evidenced by our decision to deactivate Adrian from yesterday's game, this is clearly a very important issue. On Friday, we felt it was in the best interests of the organization to step back, evaluate the situation, and not rush to judgment given the seriousness of this matter. At that time, we made the decision that we felt was best for the Vikings and all parties involved. "To be clear, we take very seriously any matter that involves the welfare of a child. At this time, however, we believe this is a matter of due process and we should allow the legal system to proceed so we can come to the most effective conclusions and then determine the appropriate course of action. This is a difficult path to navigate, and our focus is on doing the right thing. Currently we believe we are at a juncture where the most appropriate next step is to allow the judicial process to move forward.

In other words - "We got our asses kicked on Sunday so we're going with the classic 'due process' excuse."

My cynical reaction was that "hey, we sat him for a game so we could pretend to take it seriously but now he's playing."

And where is the NFL on this? I realize that he has not gone through the court process but he admitted to doing this. Can't they give him the six games now? (Then, hopefully find out it happened more than once and give him the year).

AP is likely to forever carry the title of "best player not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame".

As a Viking fan I am bordering on indifferent. Ultimately, I can live if he's banned for life but felons do have the right to have jobs and it just so happens that he is super good at a high profile job. That's life.

[infrared41]

As a Viking fan I am bordering on indifferent. Ultimately, I can live if he's banned for life but felons do have the right to have jobs and it just so happens that he is super good at a high profile job. That's life.

My question is this - the Vikings thought it was bad enough to sit him yesterday, so what has happened since then that made them change their minds? (other than having their asses handed to them by the Patriots?)