This offseason has been one of the loudest ones the NFL has ever had, but not for the reasons one would expect. Usually it would be a big signing or a big trade and while the summer of 2015 had those story lines, the infamous DeflateGate case was the leading proponent of the NFL’s latest media storm. However, that is not what this article is about. No, this is about the culture of the NFL.
For many years, Brandon Marshall has taken it upon himself to be a voice for NFL players and on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” Tuesday, the now New York Jets receiver made some comments that were less than flattering.
“There are a lot of players out there that believe that white players, specifically at the quarterback position, are treated differently,” Marshall said, as reported by Brett Pollakoff of Complex Sports. It’s been reported that Marshall also said that if it were Cam Newton who was suspended instead, the judge may have gone in a different direction.
I would like to make it clear that this was not a discussion about Tom Brady. ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini reported that Brandon Marshall called those who wanted Brady suspended, “cowards”, also saying “I don’t believe in that.”
The fact remains that Brandon Marshall, when asked if black players were held to a different standard than white players, responded in the affirmative, according to NJ.com’s Dom Cosentino:
“Absolutely. At times, at times, at times, yes.”
On one hand, I thank Brandon Marshall for his comments. Marshall has always been an outspoken guy that’s never been afraid to speak his mind and shed a light on conversations had in the locker room. With that said, his comments have no factual basis and if these are the conversations being had in locker rooms, it makes me wonder how many NFL players have read the DeflateGate case or any recent discipline case for that matter and how many of them are educated about what’s going on in their profession.
Sports Illustrated’s Amani Toomer on Pro Football Now decided to jump in on the conversation, saying, “When you look at our judicial system, I mean whenever there’s punishment handed down, usually there’s more people that look like me, get longer sentences. That’s the way it works.”
Um, no? No, that isn’t how it works. That’s why Goodell is in the spotlight, Mr. Toomer, because he tried to hand down different sentences than he was allowed to. The collective-bargaining agreement is very specific and clear about what punishments are and when Goodell has tried to go outside those details, he has been shut down by the federal courts every time.
“But was Ray Rice really worse than the quarterback down in Pittsburgh? Was it worse than Ben Roethlisberger? I mean, they’re two of the same situations. I mean, Ray Rice is still out of the league.”
Yes, they are the same situation. Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for four games, as your co-host who is clearly more educated than you, mentions on live television and you counter by saying, “I mean, Ray Rice is still out of the league” which has nothing to do with player discipline. Ray Rice is out of the league because no franchise has decided to sign him, not because the NFL is racist. He got caught on camera knocking his fiancee out and with the negative publicity that is sure to come with his signing, franchises have decided to avoid him. His race has nothing to do with his current non-employment with the NFL.
Race has had nothing to do with the league’s discrepancies in regards to player discipline. Ray Rice was African-American and his unfair indefinite suspension was overturned by the federal courts. Adrian Peterson, who his African-American, had his indefinite suspension for child abuse overturned by the federal courts. Even Greg Hardy, who has violated the league’s personal conduct policy multiple times and could probably knock a woman’s head off and still be cleared to play the following season, correctly saw his 10-game suspension reduced to four games because as arbitrator Harold Henderson said, the baseline punishment for cases like his in the NFL is a six-game suspension.
In all of these cases, African-Americans were unjustly punished and in all these cases, their punishments were corrected according to the written rules of the game. In no case was the player’s race a factor, nor was unjustly punishment kept in place.
There is no basis for playing the race card in this conversation and I remain dumbfounded that NFL players can remain adamant about this. There are plenty of players that think Tom Brady should have been suspended and no one with adequate knowledge of the Wells Report thinks this, leaving me only to conclude they know nothing about the case but decide to make opinions with no backing anyway. Now it comes to our attention that some believe Tom Brady got off not because of the clear lack of evidence in the DeflateGate case, the unquestioned violations of basic judicial process or of the punishment given with no former precedent. No, apparently NFL players think that Brady got off because, of all things, he is white.
Some players are clearly finding any reason they can to argue Brady should have been suspended, but if there are players that truly believe this as Marshall claims, the NFL has a serious identity problem.
I have witnessed more than my fair share of racism and in every case I have reacted in the only humane way to act, defending African-Americans and asking ignorant people what is wrong with them. However, there is also a huge difference between clear racially-motivated injustices, such as Ferguson, and playing the race card where it doesn’t belong.
This is not a slight towards African-American players. People of many races in the NFL believe this according to Marshall:
“It’s just not African-American players,” said Marshall. “I’ve had this conversation with Caucasian players as well. The most important part of this whole discussion is the process for the players. They just want the process to be fair and right. They just want to get it right.”
That is what every fan and player of the NFL wants, is to get the discipline process right. The first thing to do when you encounter a problem is to address what the problem is and racism is not the problem in the NFL. The problem is a corrupt figurehead that has yet to be ousted by the owners. Let’s put the blame where it belongs. This is no time to play cards.
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