The NFL Sucks

I have a serious problem with the NFL.

It started years ago. In fact, I think it started as early as 2010. I don’t remember the exact reason, but something happened a long time ago that made the sports world look at the NFL differently.

I know I’m not the only one. I can’t be. I won’t be.

It’s not that the league has turned quietly soft in comparison to the past. A lot of these rules were put in place to protect players. It’s a dangerous sport, players need protected. Look at what happened to Tua just a few weeks ago. It’s not a fluke either, Nyheim Hynes went through the same thing 2 weeks after. They both took a blow to the head; and, even though it looked insignificant, both stood up on shaky legs.

 The rules and procedures are there to protect guys. I’m not mad about that. 

What am I mad about then? 

The Image of the NFL

How many times do we have to hear that the NFL cares about something. Hispanic Heritage, concussions, player safety…the damn list goes on and on. Yet nothing changes, until they have to change. 

Look at the Hispanic Heritage promotion. They literally put a tilde on the N and played Spanish audio every so often during the game for us to hear the Spanish broadcast for big plays. 

Player safety/concussions – This hasn’t changed a bit, until the Tua situation. All of a sudden, the NFL is ready and willing to take guys out at the most basic head hit. We saw this all week, starting on Thursday. There was a late drive by the Colts that had them in scoring position. They pulled a DB for the Broncos out due to a hit to the head. They didn’t do it immediately either, they waited until there were less than 10 seconds on the play clock. 

It’s even been brought up by former players how the Concussion Protocol is and can be an absolute joke. “What day is it? Who is the President?” these are the questions guys have been vocal about being asked. 

But the NFL is all about their image. How they respond to every negative piece of publicity they ever get, how the media portrays them, and what analysts talk about after something happens.

It’s a joke…but there’s so much more.

Deshaun Watson. Calvin Ridley. Colin Kaepernick.

Here’s the facts about this. Watson is eligible to return. Ridley is suspended indefinitely and Kaepernick was basically marked “do not re-hire”.

Watson was accused by 22 different women. He faced civil lawsuits on all 22. They suspended him 11 games and fined him substantially. Only for him to get a record contract in a trade with the Browns. Watson was suspended Half a game for each accusation.

Calvin Ridley bet on football. Specifically on the NFL. Rumor has it, it was only in games he did not play in. The NFL has strict betting rules in place to prevent players from affecting the outcome of the game. I call this the Pete Rose effect. People really don’t care that Rose bet on baseball, majority of NFL fans don’t seem to blink an eye at Ridley betting on games he didn’t play in.

Ridley is suspended indefinitely, and will be at a minimum the 2022 season. 

Colin Kaepernick took a knee. He stood up for racial injustice and problems he saw facing people across the country and how police were able to act, at times, without consequences. Most players saw no issue with this. Owners more than likely did, as did people in different echo chambers of our cluster of a society. It became such a shit show, that when other players began protesting social injustices in 2017, Mike Pence showed up at a Colts game and left because players took a knee.

What Kaepernick did was no different than the Olympic Medalists raising the fists on the podium (I bet that was controversial at that time, but I wasn’t here). Sure his stats weren’t stellar, but he was just 3 years removed from taking the 49ers to the Super Bowl.

Kaepernick was also under the helm of a new coaching staff, after the 49ers and Jim Harbaugh parted ways in 2015. The following season he played for Chip Kelly, who professionally was a dumpster fire. I’m not saying this is all coaching, but they sure as heck thought Blaine Gabbert was a superior QB – News Flash…he wasn’t. 

What is my point? 

My point is the NFL is 100% “image” focused. They spend more time worrying about what the general public talks about. They have a wildly inconsistent suspension and punish plan. Here’s a list of players, accusations, and punishments (suspensions only).

Ray Rice – Caught on camera punching his wife- 2 Games. This was later changed to 12 games after video surfaced, and he went unsigned

Mike Vick – Dog Fighting (plead guilty in court) – 2 years and 5 additional games

Deshaun Watson – 22 accusations of sexual assault/harrasment – 11 Games

Josh Gordon – Marijuana – 6 separate suspensions, including all of 2015

Calvin Ridley – Betting on games – 1 Season (or more…1 year minimum)

Antonio Brown – 8 Games for sexual misconduct 

Myles Garret – 6 games…for the helmet incident

As you can see, criminal convictions lead to shorter suspensions than Marijuana use and Betting. There are a few examples of longer suspensions for criminal acts than here, but these are the most notable suspensions in the past 20 years. At least, based off the research I did, the players that stood out the most and had the most publicly discussed case. 

The NFL is a reactionary organization. There are not many instances where they act first, and worry later. They worry about the public image, don’t act immediately, then make amens with the public by reacting and putting on a show about “how much they care”. 

They’ve also go officiating issues that would make this post an hour long read.

The point is, the NFL sucks. It’s not the NFL I used to know.

Will I still watch it? Yes.

Is it a subpar product in comparisons to the past? Yes.

Would you be better off drinking whiskey or beer all day Saturday in front of the tv? You bet your ass. College football reigns superior. The NFL sucks. It needs new leadership. Pronto.