From The NFL: It's Okay to Abuse Women
Just Leave The Puppies Alone
By Chuck Hyde, Editor of StandBesideHer.com
Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons has been arrested for dog fighting and has since been told to stay away from preseason training camp by the commissioner of the National Football League, Roger Goodell. This has come after the NFL has gotten pressure and protests from animal rights groups. While I am not going to argue the merits of dog fighting, for the record I find it repulsive and quite frankly pathetic and immature, I do find it interesting that the NFL is taking such a quick stand on it. The NFL is full of players who have a long standing history of abuse against women, abuse of drugs (legal and illegal), and just general loutishness.
One player, Lawrence Phillips, assaulted his girlfriend while in college. After a game Mr. Phillips drug his then girlfriend down a flight of stairs by her hair. Fortunately for him though the NFL is as forgiving as his college coach, Tom Osborn, who suspended him for a few games for this behavior but brought him back in time to save the season. Mr. Phillips was selected sixth in the NFL draft and played for three teams, pleading guilty to assaulting another women in a nightclub along the way.
Randy Moss played his college football at Marshall. His talent should have landed him at a much bigger program but when he was charged with taking part in a fight that left a person hospitalized, Notre Dame dropped him and he went to Florida State. At Florida State he had to set out a year due to college transfer rules during which time he tested positive for marijuana and was dropped from their program. During his time in the NFL he essentially ran over a female traffic cop with the smell of marijuana smoke in his car, squirted water at a referee, and was basically a trouble maker, this did not stop three different teams from picking him up.
Ricky Williams is a running back who has played on and off for the NFL since 1999. He initially “retired” after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy for a third time. Mr. Williams returned to play later and subsequently tested positive a fourth time. At the time of writing this article, there is conflicting reports that Mr. Williams is currently attempting another return to the NFL, after testing positive four times for banned substances. There is some indication that he may have yet again tested positive for drugs and may not come back.
The NFL has a long history of having players with drunk driving arrests, spousal abuse, rape, you name it. While there has been some short suspensions, and to be fair, some harsh punishment, this behavior has largely been tolerated by the NFL. Let them get a black eye over a player being accused of dog fighting though and they are ready to take a stand. I am not certain if the NFL currently has a slogan but I have a couple of suggestions “Women, beat ‘em if you’ve got ‘em”, or maybe “Women, you can’t live without them, but you can beat them”.
The lesson here is that society needs to stand up and tell the professional and collegiate sports leagues in this country that we are tired of this boorish behavior, whether against animals, women, or even themselves. As evidenced by the NFL caving into pressure from the animal rights groups, the public has the power to stop this behavior. Simply put it only continues because we, the public, tolerate it also. That’s what’s on my mind.
About The Author: Chuck Hyde is editor of StandBesideHer.com. He is also a husband and father of two teenage boys and a younger daughter. His family lives in the northern Midwestern rural United States, where they enjoy camping, fishing, and other outdoor activities together. Chuck is a Registered Nurse in an inner city emergency room and has had a lifelong addiction to politics.
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