Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Not a Football Blog

1) I'll bet the Ravens' fans won't be nice to Ben Roethlisberger when the Steelers visit on 12/5.This is assuming, of course, that Roethlisberger is with the Steelers come early December.

2) Reading the discussion at the USA Today, the nation's high school newspaper, it's interesting to see how many people are focused on the fact that Roethlisberger may not have committed a crime, and so should not be treated as a criminal. He's not being treated as a criminal. Athletes in this culture are coddled, and Roethlisberger is a prime example of that. Goodell has been trying to clean up the NFL's image, and letting Roethlisberger play, even though he may not be a rapist, is inconsistent with that. I grew up in a town where NCAA football players were thugs, and I applaud efforts to send signals that, perhaps, thuggery is not good.

3) What Roethlisberger has been accused of is much worse than the drug offenses that other players are being accused of. The NFL has looked into this in much more detail, e.g., Goodell has talked to the Milledgeville DA, and so he has more information than we do. My guess is that Goodell believes Roethlisberger's behavior was reprehensible even if not prosecutable, and Goodell is the person the NFL ownership has chosen to make these decisions.

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