Mike’s Shanahanigans May Make Washington Better?

Mike Shanahan has done it again.  The head coach of the Washington football team has made his next chess move in an effort to get fired.  Strangely though, this one may benefit the team in the long run.

It was announced yesterday morning, that Shanahan was going to bench RG3.  There’s been a lot of debate about this and some fans are outraged.  Be that as it may, I believe this is just another move, in a long standing terrible relationship between Dan Snyder and the coach.

This drama started well before I was a Washington Fan.  Albert Haynesworth and Shanahan never saw eye to eye, and Haynesworth was run out of town.  Since this is in the era before my ‘fandom’, I didn’t follow all the details, but I remember being struck by the fact that this should have been handled in-house, not in the media and while Haynesworth probably should have been run out of the locker room, Shanahan handled it poorly.  Also, this is a running issue for Shanahan, from disputes with Elway, Dan Reeves, Al Davis and others.

Then came the news before the game last week “according to unnamed sources”, that Shanahan was ready to quit last year before they had made the playoffs, and had packed up his office.  Then when RG3 hurt his knee, Shanahan had a change of heart.  This news breaks, but where did it come from?  Honestly, probably leaked by Mike Shanahan or one of his “people.”  Because this season is getting out of control.  Trying to get Snyder to fire him, so he can still collect $7M due him next season.

Then kickoff.  Probably one of the most lopsided and terrible games I’ve ever laid my eyes on.  Not because my team was getting throttled, but just the lack of preparation, and execution.  The weather was bad, yes, but Kansas City was playing in that too.  They were man handling the Washington squad (remember, I don’t use their mascot name anymore) mercilessly. 31-0 in the second quarter.

Monday comes… Shanahan still isn’t fired. Though the rumors tick up a bit more.

Shanahan’s record with the team, now stands at 24-37.  The only good season, 2012, when they won the division and ran a read-option style offense.  The best year previously, was his first, at 6-10 and it’s only gotten worse from there (minus last year and Rookie of the Year RG3 playing out of his mind).  Mike’s last playoff win was 8 years ago.  He’s only had two winning seasons since.  When Denver won Super Bowl’s, Elways was the quarterback, and the ground game was key.

Sadly, those days are over.  I love a little ground and pound football, but it’s a passing league now.  When Washington runs the ball with Alfred Morris, they tend to do fairly well.  But every game, they stop running the ball (generally because they are way way WAY behind) and it all falls apart.

Tuesday comes… rumors swirl that Shanahan is going to bench RG3.  Dan Snyder loves RG3.  They’ll never bench the franchise quarterback even though the season is lost.  I even believe that won’t happen.  I think it’s just another move to piss off Dan Snyder.

RG3 hasn’t played well this year.  I’ll admit it.  He’s the main reason I became a fan of the Washington football team.  He’s exciting to watch.  He has amazing potential.  Having said that, he’s not been right all season.  I’ve gone through my own knee issues more than once.  I even had surgery about the same time he did on his last knee surgery.  I know what it is to not trust your knee.  I know what it is to have that little bit of doubt in the back of your mind when you do anything, much less play football.  I expected his numbers to be down this year, but I expected them to get better as the year went along.  They haven’t.  In fact, they’ve probably gotten worse after going up for the first few weeks, the last few weeks have been terrible.  But, his stats don’t necessarily lead me to believe that he deserves benching as your franchise quarterback.  If you don’t know who your guy is, that’s one thing, but RG3 is the QB of the future for Washington.

Wednesday.  RG3 gets benched.  Surely this is the final straw for Snyder.  He’ll fire Shanahan and un-do that particular maneuver.  Still, Shanahan isn’t fired.

So I start thinking about it as the debate begins.  Surely Shanahan is getting fired, either before the season is over, or the day after.  A coach that can’t adjust to the new brand of football, and can’t make halftime adjustments, with an abysmal record and a trend of losing for longer than most of us have owned our cars.  A career 55% win percentage.  Someone that feuds with players publicly in the media, and one that’s known for having “his guys” and kicking players off teams that aren’t “his guys.”

The latest manuever going against all normal football logic and tradition.  It will certainly end whatever love there is between him and Snyder.  Sitting the franchise player without pegging it to performance or injury will get you gone really quickly.  Owners don’t pay that kind of money for benchwarmers.

But, the receivers have done no favors for RG3.  The defense has put the team in multiple binds that they have to try to dig out of.  Some, they have gotten close to digging out of, others (like the KC game) they don’t ever even whiff victory.  The special teams are a joke (when we finally do score against KC, the ensuing kickoff is returned for a touchdown).  The offensive line… is well, offensive.  That’s the biggest bunch of pathetic fat men I’ve ever seen.  Alfred Morris can’t run when you’re down 31-0.  Pierre Garcon has a sudden case of the dropsies, and your flashy tight end has been out a few games with a concussion.

So obviously, there are a lot more problems than just a QB that still isn’t “right”.  Why should he go out there and get brutally hit multiple times every game.  As the field conditions get worse and the season gets more into winter, you can have a Seattle playoff game position again.  He’s been sacked already 38 times in 13 games (that’s almost three a game on the season).  And it’s only getting worse.  He’s been sacked, 24 times in the last 5 games (almost 5 a game).  He was hit 18 times in the loss to Minnesota, and not in nice ways.

It’s becoming more and more obvious, if you watch the games, the “clock” in his head on when to get rid of the ball is in hyperdrive.  Look to the first receiver and RUN!!  Sometimes, it’s already too late.  Sometimes on play action they run passed Alfred Morris and just sack RG3 before the handoff is completed.  The O-line is giving him no protection.  If he stays in the pocket he gets creamed.

Sadly, this is all one play… as RG3 gets pummeled and the linemen pile up on him.

At the beginning of the season, he wasn’t stepping into throws, as he was still consciously or subconciously still worried about the knee.  At about game 5 or 6, he started stepping into the throws.  His numbers went up.  The team played a little better.  But as the protection and drops got worse, and he was getting hit more and more, harder and harder, the mechanics started to break down.  Throws went higher and the reads got shorter.  Leading to him trying to run sooner, and therefore taking more hits.  It’s a vicious cycle.

So why not let Cousins play.  I think he’s got potential to be a very good quarterback in the NFL.  We gave up too much for RG3 when we moved up to draft him (not a slam on RG3 at all, but 3 first round picks and a second round pick is too much for anyone).  We can’t afford to let RG3 get hurt.  If Cousins plays well, we could get a draft pick for him, and bolster our sad roster a bit, and we need draft picks!!  And if he doesn’t play well or gets hurt himself, we already knew what we had, and he’s only the backup (not saying I want Kirk Cousins to get hurt).

So maybe Washington will get  a draft pick for Cousins.  Maybe, at the very least, they’ll have a healthy Franchise QB going into the offseason, and know more about the backup.  Major League teams shut down pitchers all the time.  They try to protect their investment.  Washington is VERY invested in RG3, not just his salary, but the draft picks that will cripple the franchise for a decade or more if he doesn’t work out.

RG3 will then go into the offseason, relatively “healthy” (I still contend the knee isn’t 100%, hell, mine isn’t!).  He will be able to heal up from the bumps and bruises of the season, “get his head right” with his knee, and take a few extra hits that are coming his way off the table.  152 hits last year is almost 10 a game.  Assuming his rate is still approximately 10 a game, you’re saving him 30 hits (more than Peyton Manning takes in a season).  But, without having to work on major rehab, he can work on his mechanics, a new playbook when the new coaching staff comes in, and stop the regression he’s started the last few weeks.  He has the potential to be great.  He needs to take the time to work on “offseason stuff” that he never got the chance to do like, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson did last year.  He’s only 23, he still has a lot to learn.

The team also needs to work this offseason.  Get some good blockers up front, a better defense and maybe one more reliable receiver.  That and a new coaching staff and gameplan will go a long way in increasing the longevity and productivity of RG3.  At this rate, he won’t be around long.

I don’t believe Shanahan is particularly concerned about the health or longevity of RG3.  I think he’s just using him as a pawn in his game with Dan Snyder.  Perhaps this last chess move to get canned by Shanahan, while unintended, is the best gift he could give Washington as he walks out the door.

Football Fails Miserably at Honoring the Troops on Veterans Day

Just like most weekends in the fall.  I watched a good amount of football this weekend.  Most teams honored veterans in one way or another.  camouflage in their uniforms, flags unfurled across the fields or in the stands.  Message boards from the folks in the seats.  Fly overs (paid for by average men and women since it’s no longer done by the government – but that’s a debate for another day).  As I watched this, I thought about the veterans I know, whether they be family, friends or otherwise.  I thought to myself.  Thanks for the freedoms these men and women have afforded me.  Giving it just a passing thought and really nothing more.

Then, I settled in, to watch some football.

As I watched the myriad of games on yet another glorious fall weekend, I heard the announcers, talking heads and players all use terms I’ve heard a million times over.  Then, late Sunday, Peyton Manning fell to the ground.  The announcer said something that struck me, and I replayed all the sounds I had heard over the course of the weekend pre-game shows, the games and the post-game coverage for all the years I’ve been playing and watching football.  And then there was a soldier standing in the background off the field, and it all clicked.  We’re all wrong…

What did the announcer say?  “Peyton Manning, he’s hurt, but he’s a warrior…”  Wrong!

Taking nothing from Peyton Manning.  He’s a great football player.  And he’s pushed through injuries.  But he’s nothing like the guy standing in the background behind him.  That man behind him is the warrior.  Peyton just plays football.

So, I took a short inventory of some of the terms I’ve heard in the last few days that have struck me as incorrect.  Or terms I’ve heard while playing.  Once again incorrect.  Here they are, I’ve put the dictionary.com definition of each, in case you needed it.

Warrior –

1. a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.

Yes, definition two discussing politics and athletics, but let’s get real here.  There’s a HUGE difference between warfare and football, or warfare and politics.

Hero –

1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.

2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.

3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.

Again, this term shouldn’t apply to a sport figure (I’ve blogged on this one before).  This is a term that should only be reserved for the handful of people we meet in our entire lives that could fall under these definitions.  Remember, football is a game.  Saving the lives of others, whether on a battlefield or coming to the aid of those in distress is not.

Battle –

1. a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces: the battle of Waterloo.

2. participation in such hostile encounters or engagements: wounds received in battle.

3. a fight between two persons or animals: ordering a trial by battle to settle the dispute.

4. any conflict or struggle: “a battle for control of the Senate.”

5. Archaic. a battalion.

Once again, we use this term all the time in football.  These definitions apply to war (except for definition 4).  But if you tell someone the definitions listed, and you have to get to the fourth definition before it applies.  There really is a better word out there for the confrontation on a football field during a GAME!  We call our little well painted and proportioned field a battlefield at times.  This cannot be further from the truth and the fog of war isn’t a defined territory.

Destroy –

1. to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate.

2. to put an end to; extinguish.

3. to kill; slay.

4. to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.

5. to defeat completely.

Okay, so once again, we have to get to definition five before it could be applied to destroying your opponent on a football field, during a game?  Yes “he got destroyed on that hit” is a common term in football.  But, THANKFULLY, we rarely, have players “put an end to”, “Extinguished”, “Killed”, or “slain”.  So unless we’re looking to go back to Gladiator days, and we’re looking for blood sport where people are actually killed, this term cannot be applied to football either.

Bombs –

1. Military . a projectile, formerly usually spherical, filled with a bursting charge and exploded by means of a fuze, by impact, or otherwise, now generally designed to be dropped from an aircraft.

2. any similar missile or explosive device used as a weapon, to disperse crowds, etc.: a time bomb; a smoke bomb.

So… uhm… how does “throwing bombs down the field and hitting receivers” have anything AT ALL to do with these definitions?  I mean seriously.  We’ve created a new language to make sports sound tough, mean and manly.  But the words we use have no actual use at all in the sports we consume.  If we’re going to make words, and create a new language, let’s do so without diluting the meaning of the words.  I mean the first definition even has the word MILITARY in it!

War –

1. a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air.

2. a state or period of armed hostility or active military operations: The two nations were at war with each other.

3. a contest carried on by force of arms, as in a series of battles or campaigns: the War of 1812.

4. armed fighting, as a science, profession, activity, or art; methods or principles of waging armed conflict: War is the soldier’s business.

5. active hostility or contention; conflict; contest: a war of words.

And, once again, we have to get all the way down to the fifth definition of a word for it to have any, however vague and loose, association with the game of football, or any game for that matter.  It’s downright shameful.  Sportscasters (for the most part) have journalism and communications degrees.  They get paid to know what words to use at the right time.  We can’t do better than this?

Blown-up –

 1. (of a picture, photograph, image, etc.) enlarged.

2. damaged or destroyed by demolition, explosion, etc.: blown-up bridges.

3. (of a ball, balloon, etc.) inflated.

4. overexpanded; unduly large:

I’m guilty of this one.  I used this term in my last blog post.  Until this weekend, and the epiphany that ensued, I didn’t realize how wrong I was.  A military man uses this term for his target, or for that of his comrade in arms that he’s lost.  We use it to describe a huge hit on the field.  I apologize to my veteran friends, family and anyone else.  It’s the wrong term.

Players and announcers talk about “Putting it all on the line,” “Giving it their all,” and even occasionally “Defending at all costs.”  These are terms that do not belong in a game, even one as tough as football.  The words above, defined as they are and the terms I just mentioned, need to be reserved for greater times and greater men than those on a football field playing a game.

Diluting these terms and phrases only belittles the one’s the sport and all Americans, have been trying to honor this weekend and on this Veterans Day.  Save this wording for what they truly mean.  Honor and thank the veterans of all wars for the freedoms we have by saving this language for the real Heroes, those that have been in Battle, fought Wars.  Those that have been true Warriors, with Bombs, and Destruction, seen things that have really been Blown-up.  These aren’t football terms.

So, while the NFL and NCAA allow announcers to use terms such as these, and players walk around talking about how awesome and manly they are.  They need to sit down, and realize, they have the freedoms to say what they say, and do what they do because of the men and women in our armed forces.  Since the Revolutionary War began in 1775, the veterans (living and dead) have given us the freedoms we enjoy, and usually don’t fully appreciate for the last 238 years.

Happy Veterans Day.  And thank you to the troops!

No Longer Incognito… Now the Face of Bullying

Hey everyone.  I know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged.  Work and life have gotten in the way.  So is my life at times, busy, busy, busy!

I’ve had a few people ask me my thoughts on this whole Richie Incognito / Jonathan Martin situation, and even had some ask if I was going to blog on it.  Since I’ve discussed football (and sports in general and how it changes social norms) as well as bullying, I’ve had a number of people ask my opinion on the subject.

I decided, rather than just have a knee-jerk reaction to it.  I’d let it play out a bit to get more of the “full story.”  There are always two sides to a story, even in something as disgusting as racism and bullying.  Having done so, I’ve decided there is blame to be placed on many sides.  I’ve also decided that the majority of it falls at Richie Incognito’s feet, but not all of it.  Some even falls at the feet of Jonathan Martin.

First, I’ll start with some background on me.  Then I’ll break down how Mr. Martin should have dealt with it himself.  I was bullied when I was a kid.  Just like Martin, I made good grades (not claiming Stanford level smarts, but you get the idea).  That wasn’t “acceptable” for me growing up in a rural area.  I was picked on, and had other kids attack me.  One day, I just snapped.  I confronted my bully (kind of like Ralphie in A Christmas Story) I just saw blind rage!  I fought back, and HARD!  The bus driver actually had to stop the bus in the middle of the road and pull me off of my antagonist.  After that day, that bully only tested the waters with me once more.  And after standing up to him again, I had no more issues with him.  I still had issues with other boys.  Obviously, I couldn’t fight them all.  Even if I tried, I’d eventually lose.  So I started playing football.  Once it became known that I could hold my own (and excel) on a football field, I was no longer bullied.  Was this because I was deemed “more manly”?  Was it because I was able to intimidate my bullies then?  Or was it that some saw me as their equal once I took it to them on an open field?  Who knows.  Probably some of all options listed.  Sometimes I lost on the football field.  I’d get “blown up” from time to time, but peeling myself off the turf and lining up again changed that perception of me.  Perhaps even gave me some respect from my former “rivals.”

I’ll even admit, that years later, as my perception changed, I was even at times capable of being a bully.  Luckily, that didn’t last long, and I “grew up.”  Part of that is the mentality and culture that surrounds football (but more on that later).

Now, I’ll start with Jonathan Martin.  The victim in this situation.  Yes, there is blame to be laid on him.  Some of you may disagree, but this is how I see it from a football standpoint.  Bully’s are just really insecure themselves.  They pick on you because you’re “different.”  Whether the color of your skin, your background, your education or “just because.”  Bullies will almost always back down when confronted.  Martin, while maybe “soft” in the eyes of the Miami Dolphins (it’s been suggested they assigned Incognito to “toughen him up”) is still a grown and very large man.  Most of the time, just verbalizing your issues and standing up to your bully verbally will cause them to back down or give you the respect you deserve, or in a physical confrontation like I had.

Martin is smart.  He’s been around football for a long time (1.5 years as a pro.  4 years of college, 4 years of high/prep school, and let’s say 5 years (probably much more) of midget league/pop warner etc.) 14-15 years!  If he decided to go head-to-head with his aggressor (the method I would suggest in a football locker room).  He should understand that any physical confrontation, on the field or in the locker room, will last 10 seconds or less.  Your teammates will break it up faster than it started.  That may have been all that was needed to get Incognito to back off.  If not, there are still other avenues to deal with this before it becomes so bad you throw away your career (because it’s likely over, but more on that later too).

Martin, while feeling stuck in the Dolphins locker room because inexplicably, Incognito was on the “Leadership Team” of the Dolphins, he still had other avenues.  If he decides he can’t handle the abuse he’s receiving on his own.  He has his O-line coach, his Offensive Coordinator, his Head Coach.  If he feels his been singled out to be “taught a lesson and toughen up” Code Red style (if you don’t understand watch the movie A Few Good Men), he still has the NFL Players Union, or even the Commissioner of Football!

He didn’t do any of this.  He decided instead to take it outside of the normal “Football Culture” rules of dealing with it in-house, and made it a spectacle for all the world to watch as he walked out on his team.  He should have dealt with this ahead of time.  This divides a team, and makes you even more of an outcast.  NFL Players around the league have stated that was wrong and wouldn’t be able to trust him as a teammate, and trust, especially on an offensive line is the most important element.  Once you’re untrustworthy to your fellow teammates, you’re no longer welcome.  You become an outcast.  By taking the approach he has chosen, he just made matters worse for himself.

Not everyone is cut out for football, and that’s fine.  But someone that’s been playing more than a decade doesn’t just quit out of the blue.  And the “toughening up” should be at a minimum at that point.  Which means that there are issues elsewhere in this onion.

So, let’s talk about the “Leadership” at the Miami Dolphins!  The organization has a major issue if it’s placing people like Richie Incognito on it’s “Leadership Team.”  The fact that no one knew anything of this, I consider a major lack of institutional control by the coaching staff as well as ownership.  When a man is verbally abusing (and suggested) physically assaulting a team member, it’s up to his brothers on the team to take care of him.  That’s the definition of team. 

For the entire team, to now rally around the bully rather than the victim says a lot too.  None of them are man enough to say anything, because at this point, you’re an accessory after the fact to the bullying if you didn’t do anything about it!  When you read the transcripts of the voicemail (shortly) how can you label this guy a “jokester” and a “good guy”??

You also can’t tell me that a man with the emotional issues of Richie Incognito will be smart enough to keep it under wraps while in the facilities and leaving voicemails and texts like he was is, well, bullsh-t.  There had to be ‘stuff’ going on at the facilities.  We can’t be talking about “normal hazing”.  I have no problem at all with rookies carrying pads, lugging water coolers, having their heads shaved etc.  That’s once again, part of the “Football Culture.”  (no matter how disgusting to some of those reading this)

But there are reports out today (which I doubt) from Martin’s lawyer that he was viciously attacked in the locker room by another player.  I believe this is blown out of proportion due to my previous comment about a football fight won’t last but seconds because everyone will jump in to break it up.  However, if true, there would be an athletic trainer, coach, clubhouse manager, or water boy that would have seen it.  It should have been reported without fear of reprisals!  If the Dolphins locker room is anywhere close to the house of horrors that it sounds it has become, the team, coaches and ownership should all be dealt with as far as the NFL Commissioners powers will allow.  There also should be some level of local, state and federal law that will be applicable here as well.

Finally, Richie Incognito, the racist, bigotted, bullying piece of sh-t that he is.  Let’s first look at his laundry list of past issues (exhibits A-I):

Richie Incognito Timeline

A timeline of notable incidents involving offensive lineman Richie Incognito, in both his college and professional careers:

Date	Incident
Oct. 2013	Suspended indefinitely by Dolphins after alleged harassment of teammate Jonathan Martin
Aug. 2013	Texans DE Antonio Smith suspended for Week 1 for swinging helmet at Incognito during game
Dec. 2011	Raiders DT Richard Seymour fined $30,000 for punching Incognito during game
Dec. 2009	Released by Rams two days after being penalized twice for personal fouls and arguing with coach Steve Spagnuolo during game against Titans
2009 season	Voted NFL’s “dirtiest player” in poll of NFL players by Sporting News
Oct. 2004	Dismissed from Oregon football program after transferring to school in September
Sept. 2004	Suspended indefinitely by Nebraska coach Bill Callahan for repeated violations of team rules
June 2004	Convicted of misdemeanor assault charge stemming from incident at party in February
Spring 2003	Suspended by Nebraska coach Frank Solich (reinstated prior to season)

How any team could put this man on their “Leadership Team” is beyond me.  When the football culture is, you keep it “in-house” and people are voting you the dirtiest player in football, you need to be watched like a hawk.  Not put in charge of anything!  How do you get so far under an opponents skin that they remove their helmet during a game and take a swing at you??

Then, let’s just work with what we know to be fact.  The voicemail for instance from Incognito to Martin (signs of not being smart enough to handle his emotions and keep it out of the locker room – exhibit J)

“Hey, wassup, you half n—– piece of s—. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. [I want to] s— in your f—ing mouth. [I’m going to] slap your f—ing mouth. [I’m going to] slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F— you, you’re still a rookie. I’ll kill you.”

This language is not that of a good guy, or is it ever a joke!  This is bordering hate crime.  Racial intimidation, and threats of murder.  That’s not the language of a jokester and certainly not the language of a “good guy.”  This isn’t even “toughening” a guy up, that’s handled through “bull in the ring” drills or other things of that sort.  It’s not threats of death and racial rants! 

Incognito, even threatened members of the press for reporting on this (exhibits K-N)-

Exhibit K:

Richie incognito        ✔@68INCOGNITO

@espn @CBSSports @NBCSports  @FOXSports @ProFootballTalk I want my name CLEARED

9:08 AM – 3 Nov 2013

 

Exhibit L:

@espn shame on you for attaching my name to false speculation. I won’t be holding my breathe for an apology

8:50 AM – 3 Nov 2013

 

Exhibit M:

@AdamSchefter Stop slandering my name.  You hide behind “sources” who are not man enough to put their name behind the BS you report

8:46 AM – 3 Nov 2013

 

And finally – Exhibit N:

@AdamSchefter Enough is enough If you or any of the agents you sound off for have a problem with me, you know where to find me #BRINGIT

8:52 AM – 3 Nov 2013

 

Well Richie Incognito, as I’ve said before to bullies.  I will stand up to you.  And most of America will as well.  You’re simply an ignorant coward that is not smart enough to realize that there are consequences to your actions.  You’ve likely destroyed your career, and sadly that of Jonathan Martin.  I will as you so eloquently put it “#BRINGIT” to you and any of your bullying kind.

 

You’re no longer an “incognito” member of an offensive line, but now the face of Racism and Bullying.  The “League” won’t put up with this sort of bad press much longer.  They will “Protect The Shield” and put you, and your racist ways away, somehow, someway.  You, and the Washington Football Team controversy and the Riley Cooper incident early in the season place a bad light on the sport and on the league as far as race relations go.

 

You’re done.  Teams had a DNDC (Due Not Draft due to Character) tag on you before you even made it into the league due to your issues in college.  Now, you’re even more of a scourge.  I doubt you will ever get a chance to play football again.  Take your idiotic rage elsewhere, assuming you don’t end up in prison for hate crimes charges.

Roger Goodell Needs to Protect All Groups

This is the dry spell of the year for a guy like me.  It’s July and early August.  Training camps are open and I check the blogs, news reels and every other source or app I can for news, or the hope of lack thereof.  This is the time of year you don’t want your team in the news.  Because the news is never good.  Usually it’s Running Back X beat up person Y in a bar and will be suspended.  Or Receiver W tore his ACL and is out for the season, or Center G dislocated his hip (I shudder thinking about that one).

Yes, I’m talking about football!

I’m a die-hard football fan.  College is my preferred game, ask my wife.  From the time “Game Day” comes on in the morning on Saturday, until the last West Coast game goes off in the wee-hours of Sunday morning, I’m glued to the TV and pretty much useless for any household chores.  She calls herself a football widow.  For that honey, I am truly sorry!

This post however isn’t about college football, it’s about the pro game.  You know, “The Shield”  The N.F.L. (imagine me saying that in a deep, masculine and powerful voice with an orchestra of music behind me).  Where all my good college players go to make their millions.

I’m an on again, off again fan.  I’ve been with teams that have been a joke positively atrocious for years.  I spent years not watching.  I even spent years without a team to cheer for.  I’ve finally settled on a team.

I settled on them because they’re local.  Their summer training camp is just a few miles from my home.  I chose them because they have an exciting player to watch.  I chose them because they are my little brothers favorite team.  I’ve chosen them because some of my family members have had tickets to them for years and have lived and died as fans and will never follow another team.

That team, is the Washington Redskins.  I’ve never been a big fan of their name.  I have Native American heritage in my blood.  I’m proud of that.  But I decided to overlook it.  Until today.

Today, news broke, the bad kind (of course) for another team in the NFL.  Riley Cooper, of the Philadelphia Eagles, was video taped a few months ago at a concert, threatening to fight a group of people.  That group of people had a different skin color than him.  He used a racial slur.  A very nasty racial slur (they all are) and he was immediately fined by his team owner within hours of the news coming to light about his statement.  Good on ya’ owner of the Eagles, even in his “off time” he’s still a representative of the Eagles (see previous post about being the ambassador of your group).  He has since put out the obligatory apologies, spoken to his teammates, and apologized to them.  Michael Vick even came out as the leader of the team accepting his apology.

You have to make amends as best you can to those around you.  I’m fine with that.

Roger Goodell, was on a morning talk show this morning.  Most that follow the NFL perceive him as a strong handed, rule-with-an-iron-fist type of commisioner.  Some of the things he’s done, I agree with, others I do not.  He explained that since the team has fined Mr. Cooper, due to the collective bargaining agreement with the league and the union, the league cannot fine him again for the same offense.  I believe in Unions, and I believe in groups honoring those agreements.  While personally, I believe he deserves more of a punishment, that’s not for me to say, that’s between him, his owner, his coaches and his fellow players.  I’m fine with Mr. Cooper not getting additional punishment from the league.

However, Mr. Goodell, when asked about the team in Washington declined to push the envelope.  Even saying, “I grew up in the Washington area and was a Redskins fan as a child.”  He went on to say that the name represents Pride, Heritage and Tradition.

Excuse me?!?!?!?

If you say that what Riley Cooper has done is wrong and immoral.  How is a team name that is seen as offensive to another ethnic group not wrong and immoral?  Is it okay to offend Native Americans because there are fewer of them?  Since there are more African Americans, it’s not okay to use the N-word, but it’s okay to use a different derogatory term to a smaller segment of the population??

If as Goodell says like a broken record, “Represent the NFL and ‘The Shield’ in a positive way,” how can you not go to Dan Snyder (the overly obnoxious owner of the team in Washington) and demand that a name change be made?  Right is right and wrong is wrong.

If we look at the NFL as an org chart, it goes something like this….

• Roger Goodell – Commissioner
• Owners
• Players

If the boss of the players can discipline a player for the use of a derogatory term, the Commissioner (the boss) should be obligated to do the same to the owner of a team.  He has the power to put a positive light on the NFL and protect The Shield and put a mandate to any owner that a name change must be made.  Is it because he was a fan of the team as a child that he ignores this duty?  Is it just because there are not any (to my knowledge) Native American players in the NFL, or is it just plain apathy towards a smaller segment of the population.

That’s probably it, a smaller segment of the population is a smaller segment of advertising revenue, merchandise, etc.  Why protect a big group and step on the throats emotionally of a smaller group?  Because. You. Can.

I understand you can’t make everyone happy all the time.  Someone can be offended by the name of anything.  If they changed their name to the Washington Kittens, some animal rights group would be offended I’m sure.  But this isn’t about Heritage, Tradition or Pride.  You can say it is, but that term, just like the N-word doesn’t evoke those emotions in the folks that are in that demographic.  To them, it’s the exact opposite.  Oppression, Hate and Diluting of the Heritage, Tradition and Pride of that group, as they were systematically moved across the country from their homelands to reservations, and taken from everything they’ve ever known.  Sometimes poisoned with germ warfare and given drugs they were not immuned to handle.

A person can make mistakes, make amends and hopefully get a second chance after learning from that mistake.  A league, needs to be held to a higher standard.  Why is this not the conversation?  The league needs to decide, that anything racially insensitive is unacceptable.  Even if it’s a team that’s been in the league for years.  Even if it’s a team you cheered for as a child Mr. Goodell.  It’s time for a change.

If the league wants to make amends to two groups at once.  Perhaps the Red Tails name should be mandated by the league.  It removes the Redskins name.  It keeps the color scheme etc. of the existing team.  It promotes an animal that is local to the area, a Red Tail Hawk an animal that promotes strength, power, freedom and strong will. Finally, it will honor a group of African Americans that fought so valiantly for our country and our freedoms in WWII, the Tuskegee Airmen!

Colleges went through this in 1994, almost 20 years later, it’s time the NFL caught up with the times.  St. John’s changed from the Redmen to the Red Storm.  It’s time for my football team to step up and do the right thing!  Roger Goodell needs to get his head out of his ass and put pressure on Dan Snyder.

Murder at an NFL Level. Photo Irony?

So, just “cruising” the web today. I come across the article on yahoo about Aaron Hernandez being cut by the New England Patriots due to his arrest on charges related to the murder of Odin Lloyd. A sad event indeed to all involved.
However, this is not the first time this has occurred in professional sports. Among these Ray Lewis (#52) was arrested on murder charges years ago. As I stared at the picture attached of the Yahoo! Sports article I was amazed at the irony of the photo.
Coincidence or slight dig by the guys over at Yahoo! Sports? You make the call. (I find it humorous!!!)