How did we get here? How did we let it get this far?
There is currently a diabolical, dimwitted, egomaniacal, orange-haired dictator at the head of the greatest power in the world–and don’t even get me started on Donald Trump.
Roger Goodell, the drunk-with-power commissioner of the National Football League, is never far away from controversy, constantly inserting himself right in the middle of things like the Kool-Aid man busting through walls.
Watching humans wearing plastic helmets fight over a pigskin filled with air while running into each other at high rates of speed causing serious injury has become America’s greatest pastime.
Meanwhile, Goodell sees the dangers of brain trauma differently.
“The game of football has never been safer than it is today,” he said in 2014.
There were 261 concussions in the NFL in 2012. The NFL says reported concussions in regular-season games rose 58 percent from 2014-2015. Of 271 concussions in 2015, 234 occurred in games and 37 in practice, according to the league. Ninety-two concussions came from contact with another helmet, 29 from contact with the playing surface and 23 from contact with a shoulder.
Are you an NFL player in pain? “Sorry, you can’t use nature’s own painkiller marijuana, but here, shove this bottle of pills down your throat and don’t say anything if you become addicted,” Roger Goodell, probably. Just some simple facts, but I’m sure Goodell isn’t a big fan of those.
Even worse is his complete ineptitude in handling incidents of domestic violence committed by his precious workers, excuse me, NFL athletes.
His inconsistency and willingness to sweep things under the rug in these situations is straight up mob-style stuff.
Ray Rice wasn’t truly punished until the elevator video came out; Josh Brown was suspended only one game after admitting to abusing his wife; Ezekiel Elliott, who burst onto the scene, was made an example of so Goodell could play the, “You see? I am a good guy with morals, and not a money grubbing robot” card.
These dudes are too entitled to not be punished to the fullest extent. If the NFL wants to be taken seriously on issues such as domestic violence, there shouldn’t be any room for guys like that in the league, no matter how good or how much money they can bring in to line Goodell’s pockets.
Speaking of room for guys in the league, the entire NFL and about half of their fan base should be ashamed for the blackballing of Colin Kaepernick for voicing his opinion and speaking out against injustices. The good ol’ boy owners of the 32 NFL teams would rather not have somebody use their platform for a good cause, I get it.
All this goes on while NFL teams receive tax dollars to hold military tributes and dedicate the month of October to breast cancer awareness to try to cover up their domestic and sexual violence problems.
Even Ray Lewis, a man who was on trial for double homicide, has been critical of Colin Kaepernick. The holier-than-thou Lewis partly beat the case because his clothes from the night of the murders vanished, which I’m sure is just a coincidence.
Recently, a number of white football players have been standing by with their teammates who protest the national anthem, placing their arm around them to show support. Maybe now that some socially intelligent people have joined the movement, others can take notice of what’s really going on.
And while all this is happening, Roger Goodell is laughing to the bank. From 2006-2015, only two people in the four major professional sports made more money than Goodell—Alex Rodriguez with $269 million, Kobe Bryant with $233 million, and good ol’ Goodell with $213 million, according to ESPN.
So, will I be watching every Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Saturday? You bet your ass I will.
