Happy to Play vs. Responsibility to League

NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, finally made statement that I appreciate. The statement was that Adam “Pacman” Jones needs to understand his RESPONSIBILITY when playing in the NFL. That is a much different statement than what most everyone else has made, which is that Pacman should be HAPPY to play in the NFL.

There are fewer than 1800 players in the NFL. There at approximately 60 million people in the US between the ages of 20 and 35. That means that .003% of the US population plays in the NFL. That is a smaller percentage than doctors, lawyers, CEO, or just about any other profession…outside of another professional sport. Pacman, and every other professional athlete, had to work extremely hard to reach the top of his profession. In addition, the number of professional athletes is a fixed number (unless additional teams are added). But because the vast majority of skill positions in the NFL are Black, they should be happy they can play and make millions. For every Black person in America that is an offensive statement. It is an offensive statement to say that any player, regardless of race, should be happy that they are allowed to play in the NFL. The statement might as well be, “You are a dumb athlete. Be happy you make a good living.” No one says a magna or summa cum laude graduate should be happy when he/she is hired into a prestigious law firm or medical practice, etc. That number is likely the number of NFL draft picks that make an NFL team each year.

Each player in the league has a RESPONSIBILITY to conduct themselves in a manner which represents the league well. This is no different than what is expected from an employee of any organization. Adam “Pacman” Jones should have been happy that he was allowed to CONTINUE to play in the league after numerous legal issues. He should have been gone a long time ago, but every professional athlete should be PROUD he is the best at his given profession.


TheGapMan
TheGapMan@live.com