As I follow the reportings regarding the revelations in the Mitchell Report I'm reminded of another great Steroid debate that NO ONE is officially aware of. Apparently the NFL has been accused of not providing proper health benefits to retired players and the accusations have been a public relations nightmare. BUT has anyone given consideration to the idea that the NFL doesn't want to pay medical bills for all of these retirees because they suspect that many of the health problems these ex-players are facing stem from the possible reality that many of these ex-players were on steroids during their careers.
The NFL doesn't want to accuse the players of having abused steroids during their playing days because it makes both the NFL and the ex-players look bad. The accusation by the NFL would be a revelation of the NFL's awareness. The ex-players are seeking to reap some of the benefits for having "made" the NFL what it is today by building the league up through their past participation. Although, in my opinion they really didn't build or make anything; the NFL is very popular today because of the TV contracts and the investments that the owners have put into marketing the National Football League. I could line up 22 monkeys and send them out there to play football but that doesn't mean people will pay to see it. It is not the monkeys, it is the promotion of the monkeys that draws the crowd. If the OLD players made the game what it is today, then the NFL should be paying royalties to the descendants of Roman gladiators also but that's an argument for another day.
Professional football players have been using steroids and other performance enhancing drugs long before baseball accepted such actions as part of its culture. The former football players are now paying the price for the poor choices that they made many years ago and although the NFL won't say it publicly, the NFL is refusing to be held entirely accountable for the health risks that came along with the many poor decisions to engage in the use of steroids.
UnI,t-Y?
1 comment:
You said, "I could line up 22 monkeys and send them out there to play football but that doesn't mean people will pay to see it. It is not the monkeys, it is the promotion of the monkeys that draws the crowd."
The players DO have some credibility in the success of the League. I say this because you really couldn't draw the numbers that the NFL does if you had literal monkeys out there. I don't care how much you promote it, you aren't getting people to show up in droves, to sit through rain, snow, sleet, and other elements, to shell out the kind of cash that they do, and devote as much time to a substandard alternate. You can throw all the money, marketing, and hype in the world at something - but if your product isn't of high quality, you won't turn out a success.
I believe the NFL has become the giant it is today for a couple of reasons. I agree with you that marketing has a lot to do with it. Also, the economy is doing better now than it was in the NFL's early days. People simply have more money to spend on entertainment. Movies, television, theatre, and sports have swelled across the board because people have the money in their pockets to pay to be entertained. But you also have to acknowledge that the guys are faster, bigger, and stronger now; they put on a better show. Does that have anything to do with steroids? Quite possibly. But you could also attribute it to the fact that there has been more research done on the health and nutrition aspects of the human body. Food and workouts have been tailored specifically to each position - and even to each player. Plus, the guys make more money now, so they don't have to work other jobs. Their job is to work out.
I don't know enough on the subject to address the central theme of your blog, but maybe the NFL does owe it to the past players to pick up the slack on their medical bills, simply based on principle. And if the retired players used steroids to help the NFL achieve its financial success, then most certainly, the after-effects of need to be taken care of.
PS - No, the NFL wouldn't be responsible for paying royalties to descendants of the Roman Gladiators. Just because your Great (x10) Grandfather endured something, doesn't mean you are deserving of anything. But that could get me started on the topic of reparations. . . and I would need my own blog for that. ;-)
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