“Wise Up, Dopes!”

All across America, millions of kids play organized football with a dream of making it to the highest level, the NFL. By the time these kids reach 21, the talent necessary to play on the big stage weeds out 99.99% of the hopefuls. Given such odds, when an individual “makes it”, what reason would there be for throwing it away?

Recently, the NFL came down hard on of its two miscreants, Adam Jones of Tennessee and “Tank” Johnson from Chicago, handing out lengthy suspensions for repeated violations of the law. The return of both players was conditioned on each making a commitment to avoid trouble. Both players couldn’t keep their noses clean. Jones was indicted for his role in a shooting incident a “gentleman’s club” in Vegas that left a bar employee paralyzed from the waist down. Johnson spent his off-season in the pen for parole violation, and as soon as he got out, he was pulled over at 3:45 a.m. for suspicion of DUI. The Bears said “enough!” and terminated his employment. Both of these guys have lost millions of dollars resulting from their inability/refusal to behave as responsible adults.

The amount of money these two buffoons lost as a result of their suspensions is probably more than a working class family could earn in ten lifetimes. You need not be an economist to consider the gravity. Think about all the good that money could have done for those less fortunate.

Under Commissioner Goodell’s watch, the NFL is finally waking up to the fact that they have a big problem with many of their star athletes. There have been at least 50 arrests during the off-season involving players and various drug, alcohol, firearms and weapons infractions. They’re not talking about that on the ever-so politically correct ESPN, not when they can saturate “Sportscenter” with twenty minutes of dunking displays.

God has blessed these young men with incredible athletic gifts, but quite a few of them appear to lack the requisite common sense of adults. There have been allegations floating around that Atlanta’s Michael Vick was heavily involved in training pitbulls to fight (and kill each other) as well as being a heavy bettor. If proven, that’s a pretty sick form of entertainment.

Because of their wealth and fame, many of these men are surrounded by sycophants (toadies/leeches) who draw the athlete away from the discipline needed to succeed professionally. The first steps these guys need to take is to lose the entourage and stay out of the clubs. (Remember Darrent? They still haven’t arrested his killer.) Instead of blowing money on lap dances, perhaps it would be more constructive to invest the resources back in the communities in which they were raised. Though only a select few from disadvantaged neighborhoods obtain riches by virtue of their athletic gifts, the reinvestment of money back into a community invigorates hope, a virtue everyone needs to survive. It takes courage to ACT LIKE A MAN, whether you’re a jocker or a geek. That’s a far better way of “remembering from whence you came.”

A professional football player’s career is short enough and their life expectancy considerably shorter than the average male’s. Common sense would dictate a prudent way of living, as there are no guaranteed contracts in football. They’re always one play away from a crippling injury. When the gravy train derails, the first ones off are the fast friends. Bessie Smith sang it best in “Nobody Loves You When You’re Down And Out.”

Young males generally think they can handle whatever life throws in the way without paying heed to the consequences of their actions. In the blink of an eye, the piper demands recompense, whether by the demands of raising a family or coping with unseen and unintended adversities. Recently, a young man from my hometown stopped at a well-known watering hole in the city for some libation with friends. A drink was spilled, words were passed, and the young man was murdered. It can happen that quickly. As men age, we learn that life is hard enough without having to seek trouble.

There’s an old line from a great movie (“A Bronx Tale”) that goes, “there’s nothing worse in life than wasted talent.” Like most gifted athletes, there was always someone there to cover for Tank, “Pacman” and their ilk or to clean up the messes they left behind. Each of them will learn the hard way that with each gift there is a corresponding responsibility. Right now, these two reprobates are in the danger zone, yet their careers are probably unfinished at this point. There will always be a team that believes that it can work with a troubled athlete to change his direction. But that’s a fallacy, as there can be no change until it comes from within a person’s heart.

In a spirit of goodwill, I sincerely hope that these two young men use this opportunity as a “wake up, stupid!” moment in their lives to re-evaluate the choices they have made and constructively move forward for their own benefit (before it’s too late).