So…it’s Ray Rice 24/7. A few weeks ago, when the NFL “updated” their policy on consequences for domestic violence incidents…my friends and I were horrified. Really? SIX games instead of TWO for a first offense, and a ban after a second offense. Really…um because the first time was probably a fluke right? Wait, and pot and booze…like, um, let’s say three games and oh let’s see, how about four games for beer? Heck, they’ll figure it out right?
If the commissioner and owners were judged as parents, I would absolutely not let my kid hang out with their kids. I would classify these “parents” as flaky, permissive, indecisive, and the bottom line: I don’t want my kid influenced by their kid who has questionable, if any, boundaries.
Unfortunately, these “parents'” values and rules are all over the web, the news, and social media. Okay, kudos for outright firing Rice. But, did you know that there are over 20 current NFL Players who have already been charged with domestic violence or assault on a woman? Uh-oh spaghetti-Os…what we gonna do about THOSE kids mom and pop NFL? Yeah, while I am trying to avoid the social media lingo, the only appropriate reply is…wtf?
I don’t know the inner workings of the NFL owners meetings where they come up with the penalties for bad behavior, but I’m going out on a limb here with a thought…beating a woman evidently does not affect your play. Booze, drugs, they might, which is what matters here, right? Cause if my player is high, he might not play well, we might not win, and I might lose out on some cash, some cabbage, cheddar, some scratch. So, let’s make sure we make it painful if “our kids” do THAT. Oh, and, yeah, sets a bad example for the actual kids that worship them too, yeah, there’s that…
I’m not suggesting that our kids think any part of the Rice saga is “okay.” We are the parents and hopefully they are wired by now to know that hitting someone, especially a man hitting a woman, boy hitting a girl, is not okay. Yet, anyone with kids in grade school through high school has seen the poster or heard/seen on TV or radio the awareness campaign for shaken baby syndrome that ran a few years ago. Right? You’re saying it in your head right now because it was E-V-E-R-Y where: “NEVER, NEVER, NEVER Shake a Baby.” Heck, seems like not shaking a baby was common sense right? Guess not. When did we stop telling our kids that hitting is NOT allowed? Is it time to saturate our schools with a new campaign? Maybe. Maybe it’s time for new posters, radio ads, and TV ads: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, hit a girl.* Maybe that campaign should feature the “kids” in a certain major sports organization.
*I know, there are girls who hit boys, and women who hit men. No on that behavior too. For this blog today, we are using the man hits girl example to make the point, stay with me here…
Figure it out people, and by “people” I mean major league sports, college sports, youth sports… Because you know what? My kids are still not allowed to hang out with those “kids” whose parents aren’t sure how to discipline theirs when they hit somebody. Which means…maybe I say no on that swag, that jersey, anything with your family “emblem” on it. Maybe I encourage my friends to do the same…and you know what? That might hurt you where it evidently matters the most.
ps: promise a lighter blog post tomorrow…trust me, I got a million of ’em…
Tales From The Bleachers 