Pro Football: Dropping the Ball on Responsibility?
Should an employer try to control employees’ after-hours lives to make them act more responsibly?
The image-conscious National Football League is cracking down on players’ off-field behavior with a new “personal conduct” policy, which, according to The Wall Street Journal, has NFL teams hiring former FBI agents and police officers to spy on players.
Video surveillance cameras in locker rooms. Guards posted in hotel hallways to ensure players don’t sneak out. Bed checks.
The current efforts to manage the morals of pro-football stars include the Seattle Seahawks declaring an entire downtown entertainment district off-limits to team members, and the Denver Broncos’ security chief wrangling a network of dozens of bartenders and bouncers who call him when players show up, divulging details of the women they’re with and how much they’ve had to drink.
With at least 57 NFL players arrested this year alone, the NFL is determined to protect its image by fining and suspending players not just for committing crimes, but for any act that’s deemed harmful to the NFL’s “integrity and reputation.”
Critics of the crackdown say fines and suspensions are excessive and unfair, particularly in cases where a player has been accused of but not found guilty of a violation of law.
Dallas Cowboy cornerback Pacman Jones was suspended indefinitely by the NFL after an alleged tussle with a bodyguard, even though no arrest or charge was made. He missed six games before recently being allowed back on the playing field. And when someone intentionally spilled a drink on Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Langston Walker at a bar recently, he worried how the NFL would have reacted if the situation had escalated. “When you start not to trust your own organization or governing body,” he said, “who can you trust?”
Tell us what you think: Can personal responsibility be forced or enforced in pro football? Are NFL players being held to an unfair standard of off-field responsibility?
Add Comment Share This
Comments
Unfair? No way!
I believe that the NFL players need to go further:
Do the players have a responsibility to be good role models?
YES, so many people look up to them that I believe they have a responsibility to set the example for their fans to follow.
Does the NFL have the right to impose rules for how its players should act?
YES, I think so as a term of employment or a condition of their contract.
Does that mean the NFL has the right to spy on the players?
SURE, why not, these are professional athletes. They are being paid millions to perform both on, and off the field. The NFL is protecting its investment.
Vix | 12 months ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Pros- not mis-fitts
Unfair? No, not at all. They need to be responsible to keep an image.
Anonymous | 11 months, 1 week ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
ACCT EXECUTIVE
Yes, The players need to be the same as “normal” people when they off the field. Just because someone has a big name/money, that does not mean you can act irresponsible or be above the law! Kids do look up to these people and mimic their actions. The players should be proud to be role models especially now when kids need them more than ever. Yes, the players are human & make mistakes but if they care about “themselves” at all, that’s all it would be & not a way of life!
Anonymous | 11 months, 1 week ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
More Homework!
I do think for any organizations image to remain that way, there is a need for character accountability. However, I also believe that the NFL has to do it’s homework as well. There should be some type of background check system set up as to where if in college they had these character problems that their initial contract would reflect what they get paid. Even a program for the younger kids coming in from college to help groom these young men into not just good football players, but also into excellent people. Let’s face it, some of these just haven’t been reared up or even trained to have good character, let alone having millions of dollars to prove it!
Anonymous | 11 months, 1 week ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Retired
All professional people should be held accountable on or off the field. As a teacher, I was held responsible for my conduct after school hours in the community. Clergy are held responsible for their conduct when off duty. The military holds its people responsible for their conduct after duty.
Anonymous | 10 months, 3 weeks ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
are ht. auto management
As with any celebrity they are held to a higher standard of conduct, but they they are also entitled to privacy also, as guaranteed by our constitution. I truly feel parents are meant to be the set a role model for our children. We aren’t to give up this position and pass it off to someone else, and then blame them when something goes wrong. Should not these players at least have the same rights to a private life as we do?
Anonymous | 10 months, 3 weeks ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Now if .....
Now if record labels and movie/television producers would just get on board with this, there might actually be a handful of celebrities out there for people to “look up to”.
Anonymous | 10 months, 3 weeks ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
The "Golden Rule" prevails!
Yes! Clubs have every right to expect the highest standards of conduct, on or off the field. If the situation was reversed, I’m sure they would demand the same. DCK
Anonymous | 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
IMAGE
Players are “role models”. They have to be held to the highest standards. It’s part of the job! DCK
Anonymous | 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
professional sports is killing the american family
Many people want to blame working mothers for the destroying the American family. Well, I have news for you…it’s professional sports and the 24/7/365 broadcast of the gods of the gridiron.
How come there are so few bad boy stories about hockey players, or soccer players…maybe because they are grounded in some basic personal morals and social norms.
Good luck changing the norms of football. The NFL will have to work on their little league programs as well. Dispelling a sense of entitlement is no small undertaking.
elizabeth | 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
1 2 3 > Last » (9 pages)