Boycott the NFL? What Says Lurie? Philly Media Asleep?

I've been increasingly disgusted with the NFL lately. Although I love football, the NFL and I have issues, such as their overreaction in stadium security which won't let me carry my little drawstring bag* with my phone charger, reading material for the subway/El, etc. into the Linc -- if I even actually got an Eagles ticket, which I can't afford anyway. And their claim that they want to make the game safer and reduce or prevent serious injuries, particularly head injuries, is completely at cross-purposes with their insistence that there be weekly Thursday night games, as well as their consideration of future expansion of the regular season from 16 to 18 games.

But that's nothing compared to the initial outrage over the pathetic two-game suspension originally given Ray Rice by commissioner Roger Goodell, and the league's response to the punishment's total inadequacy (especially when compared with longer bans given players who committed the horrible crime of smoking pot), followed by the responses of Goodell, the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens once TMZ acquired the video of Rice viciously punching his then-fiancee, now-wife in the elevator at the newly-defunct Revel Casino in Atlantic City, followed by the league's totally inadequate responses to domestic violence caused by other players (you MUST read this).

And on top of all that came the news that Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings was charged with child abuse, after beating his four-year-old son with a tree branch until the child bled. For those who somehow think there's nothing wrong with such discipline, think about it. Pause on these words, stare at them for a minute or two until it sinks in: HE BEAT HIS CHILD AND DREW BLOOD. HE MADE A FOUR-YEAR-OLD BLEED!

That was followed by the Vikings' flip-flops on whether he should be allowed to play, deactivating him for one game, then announcing that he would be reinstated, then reversing course after team and league sponsors began distancing themselves from this mess.

And then came today (technically yesterday, since this won't be finished until after midnight).

Eagles, Vick and Hypocrisy

At today's press conference where the Eagles introduced their newest player, dog-killer Michael Vick, the spin -- from Vick, coach Andy Reid, owner Jeffrey Lurie, and Vick's "mentor," former NFL coach/supporter of anti-gay causes Tony Dungy -- has been that Vick deserves a second chance. The phrase "second chance" has been thrown around more often than the excuses people made (and still make) for Vick's dogfighting involvement.

Yet, earlier this year, the Eagles had an opportunity to give one of their own employees, someone who worked for them for six years, someone whose "crime" was much, much less important than those of Vick, a second chance. The Eagles' response, in a nutshell: go to hell.

In March, in a mind-boggling display of incompetent negotiating, penny-pinching, stubbornness and cold-heartedness, the Eagles allowed Brian Dawkins to become a free agent and sign with Denver. Dawkins, although not the player he once was, was still considered the unquestioned leader on defense and the heart and soul of the team.

The Dawkins reaction from the fan base was pretty intense, although it's nothing compared to what's going on right now. One fan, Dan Leone, who worked as a game-day employee for the Eagles, was so incensed that he, like many others, posted an opinion on Facebook: "Dan is [expletive] devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver. . .Dam Eagles R Retarted!!" That posting got him fired within days. This Philadelphia Inquirer column, written shortly after the debacle, tells the story in full.

So, a guy with a physical impairment who was lucky enough to work on game days at the stadium for his favorite team, makes a stupid comment on Facebook and is coldly and swiftly fired. His comment wasn't against the law. It just made the thin-skinned Eagles mad. In their eyes, he doesn't deserve a second chance but someone who spent two years in jail for his involvement in the mistreatment -- and flat-out murder -- of dogs does deserve a second chance.

During the press conference, one reporter actually tried to ask about the treatment of Leone compared to the acceptance of Vick, and was brusquely shut down by Reid. "This press conference is about Michael Vick," he blustered.

Thinking about this hypocritical stance, and so many other issues the Eagles have mishandled over the years -- the Dawkins dismissal, the Terrell Owens circus, calling themselves the "gold standard," the time the Eagles tried to use 9/11(!) as an excuse to ban people from bringing their own food into the then-new Lincoln Financial Field rather than paying outrageous concession prices -- I can only come to one conclusion:

Dam Eagles R Retarted!!

Gee, I hope they don't fire me.