Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

[OSUFan_88]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

I wonder if the NFL would shove Bisciotti out of the league for this. Because it's really, really awful for him.

[Rocky]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

Not to make light of this.....

but this is like The Wire Season 6 lol.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

Their popularity will dip some...and they'll still be the most popular sport in America.

And by costing them money, I'm not talking about $20-30 Mil, which is chump change to the League in the grand scheme.

But put it this way...what is the opportunity cost of all that's going on? Even if the owners don't go broke (lol, unlikely), how much potential earnings are they forgoing directly due to these sagas in the news? Would the NFL have been a $15B industry had it's players all been choir boys and role models and the commissioner had Adam Silver's level of respect?

For the future, it's worth considering that the demographic of this country that is opposed to beating women and children is actually quite large. Of these folks, might there be less willingness to whip out the credit/debit card for NFL merch/tix? And, probably more importantly, how has this changed visibility for the sponsors? Just one example...I have decided not to buy Madden anymore (and I bought every year since its inception to 2012). Might there be others like me who make conscious decisions to withhold dollars from the NFL and affiliated business partners? I don't know..

[moylan1234]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

Power does corrupt doesn't it.

The spot I go to for Sunday games has been interesting this year. Week 1 it was packed I couldn't even get a seat. Week 2 down to about 75-80 percent capacity. No idea if its related to all this, but selfishly I hope the trend continues...I need a better seat!

[oneamongthefence]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

Bad year for EA football cover athletes. Ray Rice was cover player for Blitz and AP was last years next gen cover boy.

[kehlis]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

Bad year for EA football cover athletes. Ray Rice was cover player for Blitz and AP was last years next gen cover boy.

There is a video game forum, let's please keep this forum to talk about real life events.

[rangerrick012]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

And out of all of that, the only thing different was the existence of a video that went viral, drawing attention beyond normal NFL fans.

Have you looked at the laundry list of names in the NFL that have been involved in domestic violence cases? We just talked about the TWO specials being aired right now about Brandon Marshall.

But from a name recognition standpoint rice and AP are both bigger names than Marshall. Yeah the video set this thing in motion (both of them, not just the latest one), but if it was Bernard pierce hitting his woman instead of Ray rice, this isn't nearly the story imo and the elevator vid probably doesn't come out.

Let's not pretend this is all about people suddenly caring ab domestic violence, the names involved and the vid being released are big components, which makes it different from past years.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

Debatable if Ray Rice is/was a bigger name than Brandon Marshall, but I digress.

But yeah, the videos/pictures are pretty much the main reason why this is as big as it is. If there was no visual proof, majority of folks would've moved on from this after about 3-4 days like we have any other time a Pro Athlete(big name or not)got in trouble with the law(Vick and Adam Jones are exceptions to this rule).

[kehlis]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

No way Rice is a bigger name than Marshall.

[moylan1234]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

His jersey out sold Marshalls, and even his own QBs before all this hoopla. Won't argue who the better player is but I think Rice has a bigger following. I don't see Marshall garnering the same type of support that Rice got before that Thursday night game

[wwharton]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

But from a name recognition standpoint rice and AP are both bigger names than Marshall. Yeah the video set this thing in motion (both of them, not just the latest one), but if it was Bernard pierce hitting his woman instead of Ray rice, this isn't nearly the story imo and the elevator vid probably doesn't come out.

Let's not pretend this is all about people suddenly caring ab domestic violence, the names involved and the vid being released are big components, which makes it different from past years.

Marshall is every bit the star they are, and again, the NFL just created A Football Life for Marshall... the same week that ESPN showed his E60.

Anyway, he's just one name. You really should take a look at the list of athletes that have been in trouble with domestic violence or the law in general. I think you're just assuming it's just full of names people wouldn't recognize. If you really think about it, even you will remember the big named players that have been in trouble. PPM just mentioned some. Favre? Big Ben? Lynch? Hernandez? Chad Johnson? Suggs? This is nothing new... the video is what's new.

[kehlis]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

It's not a slight on Rice or anyone really nor is it about jersey sales which are determined by local market purchases primarily.

It really comes down to the fact that offenses have changed. In the past the running game drove the passing game and now it vice versa. Good running backs are complimentary players that turn 5 yards into 8 and can occasionally break long runs.

Wide receivers are an integral part of every offense at this point.

[moylan1234]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

I just mentioned jersey sales as an example and to introduce some actual facts into the discussion.

I've heard many people say that after Lewis retired Rice became the face of that organization. Chicago fans, do you see Marshall as the face of the Bears?

Of course the video is a huge factor, but it's not the only factor. I think too how closely all these things came to light also plays a role. Of the names you mentioned wwharton how many were brought to the public eye as close as these issues were?

Also rangerrick doesn't say anything about which is a bigger star. You're putting words in his mouth. He said "name recognition standpoint" which is a different argument

[wwharton]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

I just mentioned jersey sales as an example and to introduce some actual facts into the discussion.

I've heard many people say that after Lewis retired Rice became the face of that organization. Chicago fans, do you see Marshall as the face of the Bears?

Of course the video is a huge factor, but it's not the only factor. I think too how closely all these things came to light also plays a role. Of the names you mentioned wwharton how many were brought to the public eye as close as these issues were?

Also rangerrick doesn't say anything about which is a bigger star. You're putting words in his mouth. He said "name recognition standpoint" which is a different argument

You guys are making the star argument, not me. It's pretty pointless in this discussion. These are all pro bowlers, guys in the commercials when advertising the games, guys on the cover of Sports Illustrated... guys that get their own hour long special by the top NFL networks. Whether or not Rice is slightly more popular doesn't matter, all of the names are big.

You mention being taken to the public which is 100% a result of the video, so that is my point. Without the video, this would be another year of a handful of cases that few would be paying attention to. Big Ben was accused of raping under aged girls in a public bathroom. He got a 6 game suspension that was reduced to 4, and many thought it was too much. The small public outcry died down quickly. ALL of this is bc of the public outcry, and that is 100% related to the video.

[moylan1234]

Re: Thread for NFL players in trouble with the law

I agree with the 1st paragraph 100 percent and that wasn't ever my intent sorry if i came across that way.

As to the 2nd though you can't discount how close these issues came up. From a tv news perspective, one story every couple months is a far cry from 3 stories in the span of a week or 2. Again no doubt the video was the thing that skyrocketed everything, but I also know first hand that the rapid fire nature of these stories was a contributing factor as well.