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The Plague

By kroberts, Section NFL
Posted on Mon Jul 30 2007 at 5:18 AM EST
More on: Michael Vick, Cincinnati Bengals, Portland Trail Blazers (all tags)

Is anyone else sick of hearing about high profile players getting arrested or having allegations thrown at them? I know I am. And the worst part is not the inability of these "naturally good hearted guys" to stay away from trouble, or whether or not they can apologize effectively enough for us to forget it all, but more, our eagerness to allow it to continue.

Then there is the monstrosity that was and unfortunately still is the Cincinnati Bengals. From Odell Thurman to Chris Henry, this team easily paves the way for dysfunction and the reluctance to clean up their image.

And the sports world's latest fiasco? Michael Vick dealing with accusations about dog fighting, not to mention marijuana linkings only months earlier.

Add in Adam "Pac Man" Jones, and you've got yourself a universal theory: The NFL, and to a lesser degree, the NBA, have no true intentions toward hiring good model citizens into their organizations. More, they want whoever can help them win, increase their prestige, and make them money.

If any of these guys were in a marketing firm or working for a newspaper and had to fight off these horrendous crimes, there wouldn't just be few questions asked or a slap on the wrist. They'd be looking for new jobs.

But that's not the worst of it, folks.

A few months back the Denver Broncos had a situation with (if he's lucky) third receiver David Kircus. He had an altercation outside of a bar and was accused of being the man responsible for causing irreparable damage to another man's face. Instead of being backed by his team after his honest denial of being involved, coach Shanahan gave him an ultimatum: Take a lie detector test and pass with flying colors, or be released immediately.

What a way to treat a player who is giving you his word. But, for that matter, what good are any of these guy's words? And if one guy has to go through all that pressure and humiliation because of a fist fight, then shouldn't the same judgment be handed down to the likes of high profile athletes who make or break a team's image by the type of PR they create?

Last season Michael Vick became the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards. This year he should be the first to be made example of. It's time for the NFL and other major sports leagues to stop beating around the bush and start treating these jobs as actual jobs.

These kinds of actions and incidents may never force us to rethink being a fan of these games, but it sure will have us losing much respect for them. There is a plague that is going around sports today, and it's something that doesn't seem  to be going away any time soon.