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NFL

DEA’s Surprise Inspection of Training Staffs Could Add To NFL’s Problems

By

Brian Spurlock -- USA TODAY Sports

Brian Spurlock — USA TODAY Sports

Just when you thought the NFL could relax, along comes another potential black eye for the league.

As many of the early Sunday games were concluding, the DEA showed up and inspected the medical staff of some teams. Questions were asked of doctors, trainers and team personnel, with handling of medications being a prime subject matter. This stems from a lawsuit filed by 1,300 former players that the NFL passed out prescription drugs and painkillers to keep players on the field.

At first glance, this could be much ado about nothing. Of course, many people didn’t think a simple break-in at the Watergate apartment complex in Washington would lead to the resignation of a sitting president two years later.

Let’s face it. We consume the NFL in mass quantities. There are a lot of people who don’t like to hear bad news about the league because it puts the sport in a bad light. It is a lot like baseball, where any trash talk about steroids by non-baseball fans makes supporters of the national pastime uncomfortable.

As a baseball fan, I am happy to see the chickens finally coming home to roost. The spotlight has been turned on the NFL, and it isn’t pretty. For once, the biggest sport on the planet isn’t getting a free pass.

But what will these allegations turn into? Will it result in more damning evidence that football is a barbaric sport and shouldn’t be played?

Not so fast. Just like baseball and steroids, the quicker football deals with this issue, the better off the sport will be. It used to be that players would get back on the field even if they had a concussion. What’s this? You’re feeling woozy? Here, pop this pill and get back out there. We need this game.

Of course, when people realized they might end up like Jim McMahon, that made fans sit up and take notice. The former Chicago Bears quarterback walks into a room and sometimes forgets why he is there. Then there are Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, two recent players who committed suicide and who may have had brain issues. In fact, Seau shot himself specifically in the chest so his brain could be donated to science for inspection.

It has not been the best of seasons for the sport. The abuse allegations concerning Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson have put football in a bad light, especially with women. The league could care less about its image with females. They sponsor a whole month where players wear pink to support breast cancer research, but then the NFL turns away. It’s almost like the league is saying go out and get your mammograms, but if your husband or boyfriend beats the you, the league had nothing to do with it.

Because the sport has been so popular, the level of hubris and arrogance has been noticeable among fans and league personnel alike. The New York Jets signed a dog-killer to play quarterback? Who cares? If he helps, Michael Vick will be elected mayor of the Meadowlands. Rice beat up his girlfriend? Who cares, say Baltimore Ravens fans. He’ll get a standing ovation. After all, it’s just football.

What’s this? Players took pills to stay healthy? Teams fed players medication under the table? Who cares? The NFL is making money. It’s just football.

As the domestic abuse commercial says, “no more.” For once, the most popular league in America is getting a taste of bad press, and it’s had that coming for a long time. The more transparent this league is about the issues surrounding it, the better off the fans, the players, the owners and the league will be.

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