Especially as a kid, I looked up to athletes. They seem to embody the best of what it means to be a person - play hard, play by the rules, and get your rewards. You could even make a mistake, even a big one, and redeem yourself. The sports world seemed simple and the rules made sense.
Not any more. You can find redemption if you are the best at what you do and everybody wants to watch you. Just ask Michael Vick. Still not sure if he has learned his lesson. May seem that way today, but we have to wait to see what he does when he comes into the big money again. Wonder how much he is going to donate to the Humane Society.
You can also find redemption if you know somebody important. Just ask Brett Sutter, a Calgary Flames hockey player recently traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. Brett got into a fight outside a bar in Arizona and was jailed on suspicion of assault. Somebody else might be run out of the league, but Brett is too well connected. His father, Darryl, is the Flames GM and his uncle, Brent is the coach. So they cook up a family arrangement to send him to play with his younger cousin, Brandon, Brent's son, in Carolina. Amazing the extent to which families will go to keep problems hidden under the rug.
Then there is the case of Albert Hainsworth in Washington.He doesn't deserve any redemption. Turns out he gets suspended for the remaining four games of the season for insubordination. Not only does he not like the defense he is playing, he recently informed the GM, Bruce Allen, that he will no longer talk to his coach. His agent, Chad Speck, is incensed that Albert was not given prior formal notice that his behavior was a problem. Maybe Albert didn't know the right people....
And last but not least, let's not forget Brett Favre, quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. Brett is accused of sending sexting with a Jet hostess, Jennifer Sterger while playing for this NY team last year. But it turns out that he may retire before he can be punished by the league. The investigation has dragged on for two months, enabling Brett to maintain himself as one of the league's premium TV draws. I guess he does know somebody after all. Wonder if his wife is as enamoured of him these days as the league appears to be.
Sports just isn't what it used to be. Wonder if we all are saying the same thing about ourselves and the world we live in.....
Even the NFL can't figure out what to do to control the violence in football. Every Sunday, more than ever before, there is a concussion and a gurney on the field carting off another player with a severe life-altering injury. Two weeks ago it was DeSean Jackson. This week it was Colts wide receiver Austin Collie. Throw in a casual concussion to starting right guard, Max Jean-Giles that nobody even saw.
Despite the severity of the injury, the Eagles safety, Kurt Coleman was assessed a penalty on the play, resulting in a touchdown for the Colts and nearly a loss of the game for the Eagles. Fans thought that Coleman was going to be levied the same fines as other recent violent offenders. Eagles linebacker Ernie Sims was fined $50,000 for his recent hit in the Titans game. A hit by Packer's safety Nick Collins on Dallas receiver Roy Williams cost him the same amount. This was nothing compared to the fines on a Steeler linebacker who was fined $100,000 for several flagrant hits.
Problem is that officials, the league office, and even the players don't agree on what defines a flagrant hit. Roy Williams, the Dallas player who was the victim of the hit by Collins said, "Commission Goodell, don't fine the guy. It wasn't that bad of a deal, he shouldn't get fined. It was a football play, a football player making a football play. No injury, no harm." So Williams criteria for a violation is based on the extent of the injury. Problem is, that can't be assessed at the time of the play, unless the appearance of the gurney alone constitutes a reason for a $50,000 fine to somebody.
So if several guys are included in a hit, as is often the case in football, who do you fine? Both safeties, Kurt Coleman and Quintin Mikell hit Collins at the same time. As a result, the Eagles Coleman was not fined. The reason stated was: "Because the helmet-to-helmet contact was a result of Collie being driven toward Coleman by Mikell's legal hit, there will be no fine for this action." The play did receive a penalty for unnecessary roughness and almost cost the Eagles the game. So the referees were wrong on this one or were they right? The gurney did appear on the field, but it was deemed inadvertant.
Seems the real problem is that you can't legislate intent or level of violence. Football is a violent game, and can only be made reasonable by the choices of the players involved. A player knows when another player is going "head hunting". The culture in football that breeds and rewards challenging people at this level are trying to change the way the game is played. It has always been a rough and tumble game, but you don't want it to become a game where the end justifies the means and surviving hits that will maim people for life is the sign of a real man.
Whenever we are ready to make it change, just turn off your TV set for several Sundays and watch what happens. Bet the league office will move quickly to suspend players for games or the season and really mean it. Since football is as popular as ever, and people love the big hits, it turns out that we are the violent ones and the players are only imitating real life.
In a recent 37-19 loss to the Tennessee Titans on October 24, Eagles cornerback Ellis Hobbs was torched by Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt for 7 catches, 225 yards and three touchdowns. Hobbs did not seem himself and was several steps slower than Britt on numerous occasions. Turns out that Hobbs had been bothered by a hip flexor strain. His injury was not reported in the Eagles official injury report as he never informed the coaches or the medical staff of his injury.
When questioned about Hobbs performance, Head Coach Andy Reid said: "You're dealing with a very tough individual who's very quiet and doesn't say much...He's a tough nut and a very good football player." Turns out Hobbs toughness got overdone and turned into a liability for his team. Like the rest of us, his weakness was an overdone strength. Football players learn to play hurt. There is a fine line between pushing yourself to play hurt and hurting the team because you can't perform. It's a hard line to distinguish. It's not much different than the good listener who overdoes it to become too passive. Or the person who can tolerate great stress but overloads in the end because they never felt it coming.
People's greatest weaknesses truly are overdone strengths. Just ask Ellis Hobbs......
