Hypocrisies of the NFL

If you’ve been watching the news at all this year, you know the NFL is treading water. Of course that reflects the national anthem controversy, but what not many discuss are the double standards of the NFL. Remember when Carolina Panthers Quarterback, Cam Newton, was under fire for what many believe was a sexist statement? In an interview with a reporter, Jordan Rodrigue, she asked him about the physicality of routes and Mr. Newton responded by saying, “It's funny to hear a female talk about routes like ... it's funny.”

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Following that statement, Dannon-Oikos Yogurt revoked their sponsorship of the athlete and Carolina coach Ron Rivera said that Newton “made a mistake.” Newton took to social media to apologize for his actions in what many I’ve talked to have described as the most sincere public apology they have seen as of late from celebrities. But will the public forgive him? Many are still upset at his comment.

Mr. Newton did make a sexist statement, one verbal statement that was implicit in nature. I am not excusing his statement or saying it may not be indicative of a larger, sexist belief system that Mr. Newton holds and we only got a glimpse of, but I am being objective as to the nature of his wrongdoing in this instance. What I’ve found myself most interested in regarding this whole event is the conspicuous double standards when an NFL quarterback has been called out for misogynistic behavior.

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Let’s take a journey back in time, to 2009-2010 when the Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault not once, but twice. Yes “Big Ben” did get suspended for six games and lost one endorsement deal with PLB Sports for Big Ben’s Beef Jerky, but he has been largely unaffected by these repeated accusations. In fact, in 2015 he signed a record breaking multi-year deal with the Steelers worth $87.4 million which was the same year Forbes named him the 11th highest paid athlete in the world.

Let’s not forget that the NFL has been under scrutiny before for their lack of response regarding multiple and repeated acts of violence from their players, domestic and otherwise. In fact, there is a long list of NFL players who have been arrested, faced charges, been convicted or had accusations made around violence against women and children.

Jonathan Dwyer

Bryan Thomas

Jovan Belcher (which eventually ended in a murder-suicide)

Jonathon Peterson

Robert Sands

Adam "Pac-Man" Jones (accused of assaulting 5 different women)

TJ Ward

A.J. Jefferson

Dez Bryant

Chad Johnson

Chris Rainey

Leroy Hill

Jordan Hicks

Josh McNary (accused and acquitted)

James Harrison

William Moore

Fred Davis

Amari Spievey

Adam Jones

Richie Incognito

Maurkice Pouncey

Julian Edelman

Randy Starks

Dorial Green-Beckham

CJ Spillman

Rodney Austin

Ahmad Brooks

Johnny Manziel

Jermaine Cunningham

Daryl Washington

Santonio Holmes

Perrish Cox (accused and acquitted)

Junior Galette

Prince Shembo

Frostee Rucker

Mark Sanchez

James Winston

Albert McClellan

Brandon Marshall

Justin Cox

Bruce Miller

Terrell Suggs

Chris Cook (accused and acquitted of strangulation)

Phillip Merling

Quincy Enunwa

Courtney Upshaw,

Greg Hardy

JUST. TO. NAME. A. FEW.

Let’s not forget Ray McDonald who was accused of assaulting a pregnant woman and defended himself by saying he was “a good hearted person.” Josh Brown had his wife call the police on him more than 20 times for domestic violence and admitted openly to violence against her. We must also add Ray Rice who was caught on camera violently assaulting his then finance and now wife, and act which supposedly launched new efforts by the NFL to address Domestic Violence. It seems the NFL may have forgotten about those efforts however as four of the players drafted this season have quite the accusations of their own following them to the NFL.

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Gareon Conley, drafted by the Oakland Raiders, has been accused of sexual assault of a 23 year old woman this past Spring. Joe Mixon, drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, was charged with punching a woman in the face and pled guilty to the misdemeanor assault charge. This attack was caught on video and made public. Dede Westbrook, drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, has been accused of domestic violence on multiple occasions by the mother of his children for acts such as throwing her to the ground, biting her arm and punching her in the face with a closed fist. It is worth mentioning that Westbrook has never been charged or arrested although that provides little solace for those familiar with the cycle of abuse. Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell defended the teams decision by saying, “I think we all have been accused of things, not all of us, but many of us have been accused of things, we don’t take it lightly.” Caleb Brantley, drafted by the Cleveland Browns, was charged with misdemeanor battery for punching a woman so hard she fell unconscious and had her tooth knocked out.

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The NFL inarguably has a problem with misogyny and violence against women, but I think Cam Newton’s comment is one of the least of these. Am I excusing what Cam Newton said as acceptable? Absolutely not. Am I asking people to be aware of diversionary tactics and not allow him to be the sole scapegoat? Absolutely. I'm not asking that we don't hold Mr. Newton accountable for his statements, but I am asking that we don't allow the spotlight to shine on him as the poster child for misogyny while those with incredibly violent pasts against women and children hide in the shadows.

Additionally, this week he opted not to speak with the media, and one can only wonder why. Was it due to the return of Jordan Rodrigue, or is he going to go the Marshawn Lynch route - opting out of speaking with the media altogether?