GANGBANGER CULTURE IS HURTING NFL
Aaron Hernandez arrest on murder charges is the latest black eye for the NFL, and the players who play in the league. The big question lately seems to be, “Is the level of law breaking and criminality in the NFL more than it is in the rest of society?”
I would have to say the answer to that query is an unquestioned “YES”.
The stats don’t show it and the data is really not there to back it up, but in my opinion, there are far more criminals and ne’er do wells in the NFL than the rest of society.
Not only has Hernandez been charged with murder in the death of semi pro football player Odin Lloyd, but word is that he is also being investigated in a drive-by murder last year, a bar fight in 2007 when still in college, and in numerous other crimes. This is obviously not a sweet guy.
It is truly amazing to me that all these pampered athletes, playing a game for a living and living out their dream on multi-million dollar contracts can be so foolish. The question is “Why?”. Why are so many of these athletes so immature, unthinking and stupid? The way I see it, the answer is–it’s the culture. The culture of gangbanging, in-your-face, inner city, gangland, “don’t you dis respect me”, punkery.
I’m certainly not the only one who thinks this. Journalist Geraldo Rivera recently weighed in on the Hernandez arrest, and the rest of the punks in the NFL.
Rivera, speaking on Fox News, says the NFL has a gang culture:
“[Hernandez’s] got the gang tattoos all over him,” Rivera said. “[The killing of Odin Lloyd] wasn’t even in the heat of passion. It wasn’t a beef over a girlfriend. What it was is, ‘You have offended my macho pride. Now I’m going to, y’know, do this kind of, jungle ethos. I’m gonna hunt you down; I’m gonna kill you. How dare you disrespect me.'”
Rivera continued: “I don’t know why the league … doesn’t have minders, how the agents who are collecting 10 percent of $40 million … Where are they in all of this? Why aren’t they mentoring these young men … Ray Lewis and all of the rest. Michael Vick. You can count them. There’s a ton of them. They sign them because they’re superb athletes and doing nothing to preserve their character and put them on the right road.”
I couldn’t agree with Geraldo more. The sad thing is, there is little to nothing the NFL can do about it, “minders” or not.
Football is a violent sport, and most of the participants are violent individuals. Most are not suburban, white bread, nice, pleasant, “boys next door” type guys. For the most part, they are blue collar kids from farms or ghettos. They have been brought up in a culture of violence. It is a culture of tattoos, treating women as property, and dealing with conflicts with your fists, instead of your mind. This is not just an NFL issue though. It’s an issue for the entire culture.
Many players have had mental problems (Lawrence Phillps, Barrett Robbins, Jovan Belcher). Many have had issues with steroids (John Matuszak, Lyle Alzado, Bill Romanowski). Some have committed suicide (Junior Seau, Belcher, Dave Duerson). Finally, many others have had much publicized issues of driving drunk, drugs or domestic violence (Chad Johnson, Leonard Little, Travis Henry, Pacman Jones, Titus Young).
This is not just a trend. This is becoming a way of life.
When will it end? Sadly, I don’t think it will. As long as a player has size, speed or talent, there is going to be a team willing to sign him. The NFL has tried, and no doubt will continue to try to reduce the “gang element” in the game. Remember a few years back when the NFL outlawed that “throat slash” gesture after touchdowns or big plays? There is only so much the league can do though.
This is a problem that starts in early childhood. In today’s day and age of high divorce rates, single family households, and children at home with little to no supervision and no male role models, it will continue to perpetuate itself. So many of these kids, who will grow up to be professional athletes, will continue to grow up on their own, doing whatever they want to do, without anyone to tell them it’s wrong.
Aaron Hernandez will not just be a cautionary tale. I think it may eventually be just the tip of the iceberg.
