Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

This seems a bit ridiculous, but I'll respond here to the following from the other thread:

Phalanx wrote:

StevensTechU wrote:I haven't watched the NFL since the Vikings let Chris Kluwe go for advocating for marriage equality.

greenyellow wrote: It's kind of dumb, petty reason to stop watching the NFL altogether.

So the short explanation since you're obviously interested in what I do/don't support- The Kluwe ordeal was the last in a long line of equality, ethics, and human rights issues that made me less and less comfortable supporting the NFL. Those include:

-Paying hush money when it was discovered CTE can be caused by football. Not accidentally, but deliberately.
-Pilfering money out of cities to pay for stadiums that will go into private hands.
-Requiring homeless people to work at the stadium in order to not lose their beds at a shelter (Tampa Bay Bucs) http://deadspin.com/report-buccaneers-e ... 1664733321
-Turning a blind eye to domestic abuse, time and time and time again
-Paying cheerleaders less than minimum wage
-Playing an active role in homophobia, illustrated by the Kluwe incident
-Being a tax-exempt entity, like church and the Boy Scouts, from 1942-2015
-Masquerading their "Salute to Service" customs as a non-profit, do-good act when in reality they were charging the military millions for airtime and to have service men and women on the field before games and at halftime

That's a half-effort list, and it's still enough to see that it's a league making shitty people rich. Call it somewhat a general rule, but I prefer my money not go to shitty people. So when I weigh the magnitude of the importance of the things above (morality, human decency) and compare it to the importance of football, it seems 'kind of dumb and petty' to turn a blind eye to those things because I enjoy touchdown passes and big hits.

+1
Quit watching the NFL years ago for many of the same reasons.

StevensTechU wrote:This seems a bit ridiculous, but I'll respond here to the following from the other thread:

Phalanx wrote:

StevensTechU wrote:I haven't watched the NFL since the Vikings let Chris Kluwe go for advocating for marriage equality.

greenyellow wrote: It's kind of dumb, petty reason to stop watching the NFL altogether.

So the short explanation since you're obviously interested in what I do/don't support- The Kluwe ordeal was the last in a long line of equality, ethics, and human rights issues that made me less and less comfortable supporting the NFL. Those include:

-Paying hush money when it was discovered CTE can be caused by football. Not accidentally, but deliberately.
-Pilfering money out of cities to pay for stadiums that will go into private hands.
-Requiring homeless people to work at the stadium in order to not lose their beds at a shelter (Tampa Bay Bucs) http://deadspin.com/report-buccaneers-e ... 1664733321
-Turning a blind eye to domestic abuse, time and time and time again
-Paying cheerleaders less than minimum wage
-Playing an active role in homophobia, illustrated by the Kluwe incident
-Being a tax-exempt entity, like church and the Boy Scouts, from 1942-2015
-Masquerading their "Salute to Service" customs as a non-profit, do-good act when in reality they were charging the military millions for airtime and to have service men and women on the field before games and at halftime

That's a half-effort list, and it's still enough to see that it's a league making shitty people rich. Call it somewhat a general rule, but I prefer my money not go to shitty people. So when I weigh the magnitude of the importance of the things above (morality, human decency) and compare it to the importance of football, it seems 'kind of dumb and petty' to turn a blind eye to those things because I enjoy touchdown passes and big hits.

Agree with many of the same things you pointed out. Here's the rub-I love football and the Packers and it's so very hard to NOT watch the NFL. I guess I must be a hypocrite because I boycott certain movies and concerts because of the political views of certain actors/performers. I don't get to go to many NFL games anymore, but I would think twice if I got offered tickets to Lambeau field for a Packers game again. Actually it would be a short pondering...

I agree with most also.. But another big reason i very seldom watch the Nfl which is the same with the
NBA for me. College sports are played by kids that for most of them stops after graduation. Only a small
percentage goes to the next level. You get 100% effort from almost all of them. They buy more into the
team rather then themselves in most cases. In the pros there getting paid a lot of money regardless of the
effort put forward. In the pros its more about the player then the team. Way to much crying after every play.
But thats just me and my feelings towards pro sports.

Coming from someone who has dated an NFL cheerleader... they do get paid like s***. But they can also do appearances and modeling gigs on the side as well. So that is not the best reason. Plus they can have a full time job in conjuncture with cheering. They know going into it that they are not doing it for the money.

Agree with many of the same things you pointed out. Here's the rub-I love football and the Packers and it's so very hard to NOT watch the NFL.

This is pretty much where I'm at, except for the Packers part. Go Seahawks!

That said, I'm not glued to the NFL. I watch the Seahawks when I can, but it will never be like my borderline unhealthy obsession with Oregon (and college football in general).

To be plain, the NFL is still a bit too rednecky (new word!) for me to fully invest in it.

I cringe at the ignorant comments directed toward players who kneel/sit/headstand/etc. during the national anthem. "Fake American!" "Move if you don't like it here!" "If you don't stand, then you're anti-police!" Fucking hell. All these comments seem like code for "go back where you came from, ******!"

I can't stand the casualization of domestic violence, and how easily (and eagerly) fans will overlook violence against women as long as there's not enough concrete evidence to get a conviction in court. (Fans of many sports are guilty of this, though.)

I can't stand that fact that homophobia is still a very real thing in many NFL locker rooms. Come on, guys, it's 2017 now!

Societal/personal matters aside, there's also the fact that NFL games are rarely as exciting as college football matchups. Seriously, why does the NFL still allow ties?

It's still football though, and I do love watching football. I just keep it to a minimum. I have a couple of Seahawks t-shirts, but that's all... no jerseys, flags, blankets, NFL Network subscription, etc. I've never bought an NFL game ticket (or even been to one... because why spend the money when I could watch a game at Autzen?) And I still haven't bought a single EA Sports Madden game... holding out for the return of the NCAA titles... and until then, I'll always have my PS3.

I'm aware of my own cognitive dissonance when it comes to football. Max's Law in Oregon is named for my teammate and friend and we know now that when he was injured, the NFL knew so much more about concussions then they had let on. I also know that the elephant in the room is that football should not be played, period because of it. I watch games or record them to watch through later but I'm finding as im getting older I'm watching less and less tv as it is.