THE CASE OF THE BAD FOOTBALL PLAYER ; WHY SOME DUBIOUS PLAYERS END UP IN FOOTBALL WHO SHOULD NEVER BE GIVEN THAT CHANCE
Why are there so many cases of football player misconduct? The answer of course is always the same : money, lots of it, which takes precedence to any possible judgment on the fitness of the player and his ability to stay out of trouble after being awarded lucrative contracts. It also delays or even negates what should be sanctions or punitive actions at the first signs of trouble.
One of the most troubling cases is that of Aaron Hernandez, who is suspected of killing one of his best friends, a fellow football player, in order to silence a possible witness to an even earlier murder allegedly committed by Hernandez or his friends after a fight in a nightclub.
Hernandez is by all accounts the poster boy of bad behavior by sportsmen, only he has crossed a line few have. Reports have surfaced that Hernandez's membership in a local gang was well documented before he made his meteoric rise in professional sports. He even sported tattoos on his hands that testified to it. But what is worse, is that the NFL principals knew he was a bad egg before he was selected, but they deemed him so valuable that they closed both eyes to troublesome indications of his murky past and possibly dangerous present. They knew he ran with a bad crowd and that he had anger problems; so much so, that people point to the fact that he was a 4th draft pick to prove that his past weighed quite heavily against him. Had he not had skeletons in the closet, he would have been picked on the first round, experts contend.
But he was so valuable that they decided to write him up anyway.
Hernandez is a very young man. He has, on the field, demonstrated an incredible ability to play. Why then, would he jeopardize his career, to the tune of 40 million dollar contracts, to run with such a crowd and find himself embroiled in not one, but now two alleged murders.
The first murder apparently occurred in 2012 and involved a drive by shooting following a fight in a bar that killed two people inside a car as they were leaving the premises. The third passenger survived. Somehow, the murder of Hernandez's friend, Odin Lloyd, might too have been prompted by the fact that Lloyd either was a witness or gained knowledge of that double murder in 2012 and Hernandez's involvement, and was silenced for it.
What is more astounding however, is the fact that Hernandez ran with the kind of people who could be so easily summoned to commit or aid in such an act with him or for him, even after he has ascended to what amounts to the pantheon of NFL grandees. Whether money is involved is not yet known. But the fact remains, that Hernandez, who has been a Patriots players for a number of years, is the kind of man who lived a very dangerous and frightening double life.
And there is a third case of his wrongdoing, this one not alleged, but established, in which Hernandez blew out a friend's eye when he shot at him during a heated discussion in Hernandez's car earlier this year. The victim of that shooting sued, but did not press charges.
Why then, did the Patriots wait until this alleged murder happened before ousting Hernandez? Again, Money, with a capital M. In fact, Hernandez was so valued that he had the highest NFL contract ever awarded a tight end. But that, it seems, was no match for Hernandez's fury and his penchant for the kind of criminal membership that can take your life in a downward spiral in a heartbeat. There is no way to leave the gang life behind, some say, but more importantly, some people don't want to.
But why then, do people with difficult, if not dangerous backgrounds win membership in such high profile sports as the NFL? The answer we know. But will it dissuade NFL principals and teams from writing up people who they know are huge liabilities and can be a danger to their team? This is not a case of discrimination. There is no reason why a person with a bad past should be given a pass just because he is a valuable player, or kept in the ranks even after serious misconduct. That's what probation periods are for. And furthermore, do not wait until the worse happens before slapping a penalty or ousting a player who has exhibited such conduct.
Op-Ed
Partial source : ABC/CNN?NBC 6,30.13
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)