Average Grod's Average Blog

The other week one football player ripped the helmet off of another and then stomped the guys face with his cleats while he was on the ground. You probably heard about it and if you are anything like me it made you sick. Sorry I am bringing it up again because at this point you have probably heard all of it and got over it. What makes me mad is that if I did this anywhere I would spend the night in jail. I might be able to get out on bail until my trial but there would be a criminal trial I am sure. Because this happens on an NFL football field the authorities leave the punishment up to the NFL authorities. The punishment was stiff...for the NFL. 5 games without pay. I believe the previous record was 2 games. Believe it or not there were players who thought this was too stiff an urged the offender to appeal. The upside of this story is that he actually took responsibility for his actions saying he did it, he was wrong, and he would accept any and all punishment the league handed down. He also apologized to his victim. His coach was cool too, making a bee line for the other teams coach after the game assuring him that if the league's penalties weren't enough the team itself would deal additional punishment. This is all well and good but this was a malicious criminal act requiring 30 stitches. Is his punishment too strict? You tell me. Five games with no pay amounts to $190 k in lost income. That's right. He is losing more than I paid for my house. Sounds fair but that is 1/17 of his $5.5 million contract. Something is wrong with this world when there are people starving and homeless yet a criminal can make millions and avoid criminal punishment just because of celebrity status. To be fair the team is looking into their options and have been notified by their lawyers that he is breach of his contract so whether or not he will play again is up in the air. He may or may not play for his team again but I doubt he is done for good. I could be wrong but at this point I don't have the confidence that any professional sports organization or the american sports enthusiast to do the right thing. They are just too entertaining and that means they bring in money. Anyone remember Mike Tyson?