Sullying the image of the NFL ... (1 Viewer)

[Dancing Bear]

The whole conduct policy is a joke, and there is no standard framework to judge any player ...

Who really has sullied the NFL's reputation the most in the last 10 years and under what circumstances?

Furthermore, do we really care? If so, then where do we start?

Doesn't make any sense to me to start when these guys are pros after they've had years of reinforcement from elementary school up which has allowed them to regularly be ABOVE THE LAW.

Check out this interesting URL ...

Hooligans in the NFL

Quite a list of Choir Boys ...

 

[Dancing Bear]

Could have added these to the selection :

Tom Brady - Fathering a child out of wedlock

Antonio Cromartie - Fathering 7 different children with 6 different women out of wedlock

Point is ... on what level if any should we be judging these guys?

 

[Jeremy]

I'd say Roethlisberger because he's the biggest name and his situation is the most current. And as that TV show says "sex crimes are considered especially heinous." This year he'll be loudly cheered by the Pittsburgh faithful, which will send a chill down the spine of many of the rest of us. And he plays for one of the NFL's more famous and respected franchises. All that adds up to a pretty uncomfortable situation for the NFL.

 

[gandalas]

It has to be Michael Vick. While I do not think his crimes are at the same level as someone like OJ Simpson, OJ was WELL out of the NFL when his crimes took place, and thus I do not think it has the same impact on the NFL.

For Vick, EVERYONE was talking about nothing but his trial, arrest, jailing, etc. From being a poster boy for the NFL for his first 3 or 4 seasons in the NFL to his dramatic drop with the revelations of his off-field activities, he was definitely the highest profile case against a current NFL player.

 

[coolnerd]

Could have added these to the selection :

Tom Brady - Fathering a child out of wedlock

Antonio Cromartie - Fathering 7 different children with 6 different women out of wedlock

Point is ... on what level if any should we be judging these guys?

I judge them on their on field performance. I only know them for and because of what they do on the field. It is better if they are nice guys who have good ethics and morals, but it does not influence my enjoyment of the game if the participants are not largely good guys.

 

[dgreen]

Could have added these to the selection :Tom Brady - Fathering a child out of wedlock

Why single out Tom Brady?

 

[Novice2]

Furthermore, do we really care?

i don't

 

[DeCleater]

It's the culture we live in, get used to it. The NFL isn't any worse than society in general.

 

[roadkill1292]

I don't give a rat's patootie about the NFL's image.

 

[Das Boot]

Other - Brett Favre

Crocs + Annual Drama Queen Retirement saga

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Jerramy Stevens should be on the list — although he's not famous enough to win.

O.J. had been out of the league so long, I don't think people associate his crimes with the NFL as a whole.

Mike Vick (dogfighting) and Big Ben (general boorishiness) are probably my top two choices here.

 

[Adebisi]

Tom Brady - Fathering a child out of wedlock

 

[fatness]

New England Patriots cheating scandal, and NFL destroying the evidence.

 

[Carolina Hustler]

Could have added these to the selection :

Tom Brady - Fathering a child out of wedlock

Antonio Cromartie - Fathering 7 different children with 6 different women out of wedlock

Point is ... on what level if any should we be judging these guys?

Would be more of a spectacle if he fathered 7 of the SAME children with 7 different women... Boy, wouldn't that be freaky?!... Could make a movie about that one "Children of the Corm"

 

[Polar Dude]

The hard-core fans that are intimately familiar with every name on that list are never going to be turned away from the sport by the off-field activities of the players. It's image can't really be sullied in their eyes. It's the causal fans and the fringe fans that will be affected by the scandals.

Other than OJ Simpson, the most well-known name on this list is Michael Vick's. Vick's crime really didn't have the magnitude of OJ's, but his came at a time when information was spreading at a level that was unknown in the early 90's. Simpson was long retired and had gained some fame in the movies, making his connection to the NFL a bit lessened, while Vick was at the peak of his career and was solely associated with the NFL. Finally, murder cases receive media-attention so frequently that we are a bit numb to them. The dog-torture really spiked some sympathy due to the novelty of it.

 

[N4S]

Killing dogs > Killing Humans and raping chicks?

 

[Jeremy]

New England Patriots cheating scandal, and NFL destroying the evidence.

That's the winner. Calls into question the validity of THREE superbowls. That they had to destroy the tapes makes it look like it would have been devastating to the NFL if we had seen them.

 

[Colin Dowling]

New England Patriots cheating scandal, and NFL destroying the evidence.

 

[Polar Dude]

Killing dogs > Killing Humans and raping chicks?

I don't think you understand the question. We're not being asked to evaluate the severity of the crimes, just their impact on the NFL's reputation.