Friday, September 12, 2014

Hypocrisy of the NFL: Where's the Rest of the Outrage?

There is currently widespread and rabid demands for Ray Rice's head on a pike over a video of him punching his (then) girlfriend in the face, knocking her out.  Rice was arrested back in February for simple assault, but the demands for excessive punishment only began once the media hyped the incident.  There is no shortage of players in the NFL that have been arrested for criminal acts (and I'm not talking about speeding tickets) and are still collecting that seven figure pay check.

I have to ask, where's the outrage over the rest of the dirtbags that the NFL employs?  UT San Diego has a database of NFL player arrests (click here to see it), and you may be surprised to see the number and seriousness of the arrests.  Why?  Because you've likely never heard of them before, since the media didn't choose to hype them the way they did the Rice case. 

On August 31st of this year, Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence.  Where's the outrage?  On July 20th, St Louis Rams linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar was arrested for battery and disorderly conduct.  Where's the outrage?  On July 19th, Eagles safety Keelan Johnson was arrested for assaulting a police officer.  Where's the outrage?  

I submit that the NFL only punishes those that the media demands they punish.  Again, I ask, where's the outrage over the other criminal acts of NFL players?  Why is the media silent on those counts?  Why do those players get a free pass by the media and league?  Rice did nothing worse than other players, but he doesn't rate to play football anymore, or something.  If we're going to hold him to a certain standard, let's hold the other domestic abusers, dopers, drunk drivers, and cop beaters to the same standard.

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