There was an incident that occurred over the past week or so that has drawn all the media's attention, but apparently none of its good sense. The incident involves Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins. After a loss to the Chicago Bears on September 27, reports say that Collins hurled his mouthpiece at a fan after that fan allegedly spit on Collins and used a racial slur.
What has been mind boggling about this situation is that Collins has been the one reprimanded by the league and the media. Countless talking heads have ripped Collins for losing his cool after a tough game and characterized his behavior as hot-headed. However, I have heard no discussion of the fan who spit on another human being, and threw in a racial slur for good measure, all after his team won. Shouldn't a fan be excited that he just got to spend time in one of the league's best stadiums, watching two of the oldest rivals in sports, with his home team ultimately winning a great game? Additionally, how disturbing is it that a fan in the diverse city of Chicago, amongst 70,000 other fans, could feel even the slightest bit comfortable using a racial epithet?
What has been mind boggling about this situation is that Collins has been the one reprimanded by the league and the media. Countless talking heads have ripped Collins for losing his cool after a tough game and characterized his behavior as hot-headed. However, I have heard no discussion of the fan who spit on another human being, and threw in a racial slur for good measure, all after his team won. Shouldn't a fan be excited that he just got to spend time in one of the league's best stadiums, watching two of the oldest rivals in sports, with his home team ultimately winning a great game? Additionally, how disturbing is it that a fan in the diverse city of Chicago, amongst 70,000 other fans, could feel even the slightest bit comfortable using a racial epithet?
What has the presence of celebrity done to our values? Collins gets blamed not because his offense was egregious, but because he is famous. Are we so lazy that because the media portrays Collins as our bad guy we simply believe it, we simply absorb the media's fodder as our moral compass?
Yes, Collins is an ambassador of the NFL, but we are all human beings living in a society. Nobody, no matter what context, is allowed to spit on and degrade another person. Furthermore, no person can be expected to simply shrug that type of personal assault off.
The NFL jumped in quickly to force an apology from Collins, but what they should have done is openly criticized the use of spitting and a racial slur by a fan in an NFL stadium. They should have stood by Collins. They could have condemned the throwing of his mouth guard without making him the central villain in this story. The NFL is a business, however, and they don't want to alienate their fan base by openly chastising a fan. Instead the NFL clings to the moral low ground, the moral simplicity they expect the masses to gobble up.
It's disappointing to see this type of offense go unchecked and largely uncriticized in this day and age. Why is it that we expect our NFL players to achieve this lofty standard of conduct and restraint, and expect nothing from ourselves?
The NFL jumped in quickly to force an apology from Collins, but what they should have done is openly criticized the use of spitting and a racial slur by a fan in an NFL stadium. They should have stood by Collins. They could have condemned the throwing of his mouth guard without making him the central villain in this story. The NFL is a business, however, and they don't want to alienate their fan base by openly chastising a fan. Instead the NFL clings to the moral low ground, the moral simplicity they expect the masses to gobble up.
It's disappointing to see this type of offense go unchecked and largely uncriticized in this day and age. Why is it that we expect our NFL players to achieve this lofty standard of conduct and restraint, and expect nothing from ourselves?
--from Adam
(Image from espn.com)
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