Bad Behavior in the NFL

I look forward to football season. The NFL is the one sport that I enjoy watching regardless of which teams are playing. The opening weeks of this season have been eclipsed in the media by the actions of a few players.

Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens was hit with an indefinite suspension after video surfaced of him punching out his wife in a casino elevator. Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings was initially suspended for one game after he was criminally charged with beating his 4-year-old son with a switch.

Excluding the football connection, these two incidents have something else in common. Both men struck those whom they apparently loved in anger. Mr. Rice knocked his wife out cold and Mr. Peterson left welts across the back of his young child. It is never acceptable to hit a woman or beat a child.

There is a difference between beating and spanking. Spanking is a swat to communicate your displeasure regarding the unacceptable behavior of your child.  When you incorporate a weapon, strike in anger or multiple times, you are beating a child to relieve your frustration. You teach your child is that beatings are justified if you are upset enough.  Regarding the Rice incident, you never punch out a woman, period!

People are raised in various environments, not all of them are optimum. Just because someone can run well with a football does not mean that they bring the necessary life skills to their relationships. Part of life’s journey is to learn any skills that we were not taught growing up.

The players’ behavior was reprehensible but their ability to make a living should not be permanently taken away nor should they be considered social lepers. Money and fame does not automatically come with behavioral skills. The players should resolve any criminal charges, seek counseling and modify future behavior. We can use these incidents as a reminder to evaluate our own behavior.