This was the straw I think, and while I know Im being dramatic, I think Im officially done. #nomorenfl If you dont pay for a product, you are the product, and Im giving my eyeballs, money, attention, affection to something that brings me happiness but ultimately directly supports a league working to get a guy who flat-out knocked out his girlfriend a slap on the wrist that less that 1% of the public would get, while that same league goes on TV and lies to us about that. They respond by saying they couldnt get a copy of the tape they both already had, and had easy access to through Rice himself. The idea was to minimize, blame the victim, give enough cover so we can pretend its not a big deal as we watch the next game and consume. Im not ok with that. Any of it. I wouldnt put up with it if my favorite restaurant did it, or my best friend, or my boss, or anyone else in my life. Ive long been troubled by how they did the same thing with head injuries (actively lied about it for years so wed keep watching, kept lying to players so they wouldnt question it either, denied claims like Mike Websters and left him disabled and homeless so they could keep up the cover, even though everyone, including the NFL, knew back then he was disabled as a result of playing football, etc.), and that Id have to deal with watching my favorite players end up with dementia. A disease they will suffer from, only because I enjoyed watching them get the repeated injuries that lead to the disease. They dont get ALS at 10 times the rate of the rest of us because they are saving people from burning buildings, or rushing into nuclear reactors to stop them from melting down...they suffer from those things because we like a fun Sunday afternoon. Now a fun Thursday/Sunday/Monday/sometimes Saturday, soon to be 18 weeks, etc. Favres already admitted hes lost his memory, and soon he wont be seen in public again. Rodgers is at risk, as is Eddie Lacy...maybe its just not worth it to me to see them go through that for my entertainment. I get that they signed up for it, and for many of the players this is the only way out of their crappy economic stratus...but if they did the same things and fought to the death would I be part of that too? Its just a cop out to make me feel better about watching them diminish themselves...bottom line is the league and its child abuse/spouse abuse/PED use/drug abuse/self-harm is all there to make me happy, and I think Im going to step away from being a part of that problem. Maybe its because personal experiences with dementia are making it a little more real for me now. Maybe its because I saw a 240lb man with a closed fist give a left hook to a woman and for the first time I saw what domestic violence really looks like, while the league thought it was more important for me to consume and covered it up. Maybe its because I lay in bed at night worrying I used too strong a words to scold my wonderfully behaved children while the league welcomed back someone who BEAT HIS KIDS TO BROKEN SKIN WITH A STICK, and only relented when we all said Hell no!. Maybe its because they insist on telling me that the racial slur thats a team name isnt offensive, but then only use Native American when they talk about it. I dont know, but it feels like somethings changed. For the first time I can remember (and my first memory was a Packer v. Washington playoff game from 1972), I have no interest in seeing my game this weekend and Im missing it while I could easily watch it. Ive removed all the sports talk radio stations off my Sirius pre-sets earlier this week, I havent checked espn since I read this article. Well see. Its damn near an addiction...but something feels different than before, and while Im sure Ill see games from time to time, I think Im pretty much done with participating in all of this. Good luck #nflcommish
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 16:49:57 +0000
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