The Act of a NFL Player

The NFL has had way too many problems this season off the field and I feel it has been long enough that I can express my thoughts.  After reading Russell Wilson's article on Derek Jeter's new website The Player's Tribune, I felt even stronger toward my opinion.

The only thing that makes NFL players different than the person reading this is the fact that they have the skill to play football at a higher level. They have families, video games, fantasy football leagues and similar struggles. Why are we in such big shock when one of our favorite athlete does something terrible off the field? Because we treat them as if they are super heroes. We never see their true identities. We fall in love with their act, the face they put on for the media and their team. Russell Wilson even says "Many of you readers probably think I have been Mr.Goody Two-Shoes my whole life, but honestly, I was a bully growing up." This shows the fact that we don't know them. We know what their careers are and how their career is going.
Some players grew up in bad environment and don't know what is right and wrong. Adrian Peterson was punishing his child the way he was punished and the sad thing is, he had no idea he did anything wrong. I'm not trying to defend the players for what they do but I'm trying to get people to understand the fact they face struggles other americans do. Domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assaults is bigger than football but why was their not very much concern for these problems until an athlete is on the wrong side of it? This is bigger than football but most fans just care their player and not the actual situation. The person we see on the field, at the press conference and in interviews are often not a true reflection of who they are. Their agents usually help them prepare what to say and how to say it to help their image.

The problem we face is the fact that fans are becoming way to attached to players. The players are just trying to do their job and earn their check but fans feel betrayed when their favorite player leaves their team, or does something they don't agree with. People need to see that the NFL is like any other business.

With the recent NFL news its important to point out that October is in fact Domestic Violence Awareness month. For more info you can visit Russell Wilson's new website Why Not You to help the cause.