Of backlashes and blitzes: NFL Nation under siege

September 18, 2014

Well, that was quick.

No sooner was Adrian Peterson deactivated by the Minnesota Vikings for felony child abuse than he was reinstated after his team took a drubbing from the New England Patriots.

While Peterson is said to be a few floors short of an observation desk, he may not be as lacking in self-awareness as his smiling mug shot would attest. He’s taken to posting biblical passages of the “judge not lest ye be judged” variety. Religion may not be “the opiate of the masses,” as Karl Marx called it, but it is certainly the last refuge of the vilified.

Meanwhile, the Vikings have taken refuge in that other august document, the Constitution, saying there’s no reason Peterson should not play while awaiting due process. Really? ...

Adrian Peterson – the NFL’s latest nightmare

September 14, 2014

What a week for the NFL – Ray Rice’s indefinite suspension for coldcocking his wife, commish Roger Goodell’s failure to respond to the seriousness of the act from the get-go and now Vikings running back Adrian Peterson indicted for felony child abuse.

Peterson, who was released on $15,000 bond but deactivated for tomorrow’s game against the Patriots, took a switch to his 4-year-old for apparently pushing a sibling because of a motorbike video game. Instead of taking away the child’s game privileges, Peterson cut and bruised the boy’s buttocks, legs, ankles and even genital area with a tree branch. This has been a common form of punishment in certain parts of the United States, which is no excuse. We live with the past not in it. Lots of things that we once took for granted – smoking, driving without seatbelts – have since proven injurious, and smart people no longer do them. But making the smart choice isn’t always that easy. ...

Colin’s eyes, Russell’s, uh, thing and the NFL’s continuing female trouble

September 13, 2014

As we move from Ray Rice (former Raven) to Condoleezza Rice (future NFL commish?), I thought we’d lighten up with Colin Kaepernick – 49ers quarterback, model, sex symbol.

Colin’s on the cover of the new V Man magazine, photographed by Bruce Weber, whose gift for capturing men and homoeroticism is unquestioned. How life and art parallel one another: In my forthcoming novel, “In This Place You Hold Me” – the second book in my series, “The Games Men Play” – New York Templars quarterback Quinn Novak poses for a series of erotic photos by fashion/art photog Elliott Gardener, whom we meet in Alí’s story arc in my first book, “Water Music.” Apparently, you really can’t make this stuff up.

Anyway, back to Colin. ...

Hope to end domestic violence

September 12, 2014

The story of Ray Rice coldcocking then-fiancée Janay Rice and a possible NFL cover-up of the act is not going away. The National Organization of Women has called for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to step down, this as former FBI director Robert Mueller is appointed to lead an investigation into what the NFL knew and when it knew it.

There has been much written about the subject and much of that misguided. People think with their hearts, their loins and their wallets. They see what they want to see. But in this case – in most cases – we need to think with our minds. Here are the incontrovertible facts, as I posted them on ESPN: Ray Rice assaulted the woman who became his wife, the former Janay Palmer, and Goodell exercised abysmal leadership in responding to that act. Both men should be gone from the NFL – permanently.

It does not matter if what happens between a husband and wife is private. (The assault took place in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino, a public place.) It doesn’t matter that the Atlantic City district attorney chose not to prosecute, although I’m sure that is being investigated, too. And most important, it really doesn’t matter if Mrs. Rice confronted her husband on the elevator or why she dated, married and stayed with him. Nor is it in anyway material that she is pleading for privacy as her world unravels, thanks to her husband.

All that matters here is that Rice assaulted his future wife, and the league chose to slap him on the wrist with a two-game suspension at first while possibly sweeping under the rug any knowledge of the video capturing the act. ...

A blue Monday in the sports world

September 9, 2014

Well, it was a depressing sports day, wasn’t it? Let’s start with the least offensive aspect – the US Open men’s final. I didn’t see it, but then, I work for a living like many other people, so I wasn’t home for the 5 p.m. start and wasn’t about to distract myself at the office. By the time I got home, it was all over but the shouting – Marin Čilić defeating Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. An even bigger loser than Niskikori – CBS Sports, which must’ve been kicking itself over its star-less final. (Hey, the 5 p.m. start doesn’t help the ratings either, CBS.)

Perhaps the Eye Network can blame Novak Djokovic. I can’t help but think that this was his tournament to lose.

I can see Roger Federer – who is, after all, 33 – going down to the big, hard-serving Čilić. But as good as Nishikori may be, you expect more from the No. 1-ranked player in the world. Maybe it’s just me. But no matter my mood or what’s happening personally in my life or even how I feel physically, I’ve never allowed anything to interfere with my writing or my work. I know that everyone says at the end of your life, you won’t wish you wrote one more article but rather that you spent more time with your loved ones.

But here’s the way I see it: Not everyone can be a writer. Not everyone can win Wimbledon. Obituaries aren’t written about relationships. They’re written about accomplishments.

You have to look at Nole’s opportunities at most of the Slams since 2011 and wonder if he hasn’t squandered them, because of – well, what? We’ll get into that when we explore Chris Bowers’ new book, “The Sporting Statesman: Novak Djokovic and the Rise of Serbia” in an upcoming post. ...

Sam, I am

September 7, 2014

As we might’ve predicted, the presence of Michael Sam in the NFL is bringing out the worst in humanity.

First, the NFL, according to NBC’s Peter King, asked around if any team had interest in putting Sam, the league’s first openly gay player, on its practice squad after the St. Louis Rams cut him, basically to avoid a PR disaster – not because the guy’s good and deserves a chance or even because the league is standing up for what’s right.

Meantime, the Dallas Cowboys bit and now a group calling itself American Decency will protest the Cowboys’ home opener against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Sept. 7. Gee, wonder if American Decency is going to protest spousal abuse, gun possession, drunk driving, dogfights and any of the NFL’s other little extracurricular activities.

I’ll be rooting for my Niners but go, Sam.

Michael Sam’s out (of the NFL) – for now

September 1, 2014

So in the end after all the hoopla, Michael Sam – the first openly gay player in the NFL (almost) – didn’t make the cut with the St. Louis Rams.

There are just so many ways to look at this. How convenient for the those who can sigh with relief and say, “Hey, we tried but he just wasn’t good enough.” How vindicating for the skeptics, who will say, “He was such a lightweight to begin with. The only reason he got a shot was because he’s gay.”

But how sad for those of us who’d like to see the Sams and the Tim Tebows of the world find their places in the NFL sun regardless of the imperfections of their (still considerable) skills and their sexual or religious persuasions.

Some day, we won’t have to judge people by anything but those skills and what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called “the content of their character” – which in Sam’s case seems to be class all the way, and which is more than you can say for the Ray Rices of the game. ...