I could hardly contain my glee as I watched my nephew take to the field with his peewee football team on a chilly Sunday morning last November. Later, the tough little kid would provide even more entertainment as he tackled the opposing team’s running back about five yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Given that I had never been allowed to play tackle football by my own parents while I was a child, watching it all was a real treat, and the experience kicked into overdrive when after the game my nephew’s head coach awarded him a game ball for his spectacular defensive play.
Which, when you think about it, isn’t all that different from what they do in the National Football League — and Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott agrees. That’s something we should all keep in mind these days as various observers of the professional game wail and caterwaul over how the investigation of former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and the “bounty system” — which involved paying players to hit opponents so hard that they had to leave games — he ran while helping the team win a Super Bowl has revealed the dark heart of the National Football League.
As for me, I’ll stick with the initial response from retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who when first questioned about the alleged bounty system said, “If they wanted me to testify in court about this, they’d be calling the wrong guy. It’s football. I don’t think anything less of those guys.”
Neither do I. Besides, if any of the hits that Favre took in the NFC Championship Game in January 2010 were illegal, then the refs would have found a way to penalize them when they happened. This is professional football, which the last time I looked was a game played by adults — adults who presumably understand the risks they undertake when they step onto the field. If it gets too rough, maybe it’s time for them to get off the field.
Eric McErlain blogs at Off Wing Opinion, a Forbes “Best of the Web” winner. In 2006 he wrote a “bloggers bill of rights” to help integrate bloggers into the Washington Capitals’ press box. Eric has also written for Deadspin, NBC Sports and the Sporting News, and covers sports television for The TV News. Follow Eric on Twitter.