
The NFL’s plan to protect America from witches - zdw
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/06/the-nfls-plan-to-protect-america-from-witches
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drawkbox
> _Grandpa’s pompous Lord Tywin Lannister response encapsulates exactly what’s
> wrong with NFL management: They insist on being the self-appointed guardians
> of America’s mythological vision of itself. Malt shops on every corner, Pat
> Boone crooning on the jukebox, and modestly dressed virgins sitting around
> with knees clamped together waiting to be asked to prom. This 1950s, Father
> Knows Best soundstage fantasy doesn’t stop with paternalistic and
> puritanical gender stereotypes, but also promotes simplistic notions about
> race and patriotism. The NFL’s anachronistic fancies aren’t just a misguided
> attempt to pander to what they think their traditionalist fans want, but
> also projects the hard-core conservative values of the mostly rich, white
> one-percenters who own the teams. We must live in their Disneyland – or
> else._

Great writing by Kareem. I always found the NFL control of players in the
offseason, especially when it relates to marijuana use, extremely repressive
and controlling. Lots of players and former players are waking up to it [1]

Noone in the private industry, besides sports figures, would put up with the
after hours and offseason controls the NFL puts on players. These are also
young players that just got out of college and partying, they just came into
lots of money, and they treat most like children or their own property. NFL
and other sports owners, for one reason or another, really seem to believe
they are OWNERS not just the boss.

[1] [http://thelab.bleacherreport.com/jake-plummer-s-pot-
crusade/](http://thelab.bleacherreport.com/jake-plummer-s-pot-crusade/)

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mnm1
I love the game, but the league is despicable so with every season I watch
less and less. At some point, I may stop altogether. I don't buy gear and
would lead a campaign if my city even thought about bringing in a team and
wasting public money on a stadium. The states looking to ban tackle football
for young kids are on the right track. This should be pushed nationally. It's
the only way to start bringing down this awful organization. If this went
national, I can see the nfl fading in a generation or two. Parents can, of
course, do their parental duties and keep their kids out of this sport till
they're 18. Really, at this point, CPS should be handling the cases where
parents fail. CTE is a horrible "gift" to give to kids. But the dumb masses
will take a lot longer to change without new regulations and in the meantime,
a few will make millions and millions will get CTE playing for teams whose
owners' ideals belong on a slave plantation, not in the modern world. I'll
miss it a little, but not much, because these same owners' idiotic policies on
broadcasting mean seeing the games of interest most Sundays is an outrageously
expensive or impossible proposition.

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forkLding
Always end up forgetting that Kareem is a great author in his own right with a
multitude of inspirations and influences

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booleandilemma
The paragraph at the top, with the Malleus Maleficarum, seems so disconnected
from the rest of the article.

~~~
rayiner
I think it dovetails nicely with the discussion of the rule requiring the
cheerleaders to leave a restaurant when a player enters. It’s a very old idea
that puts the onus on women to avoid improper sexual advances.

~~~
coolso
Another way to look at it is the players are worth far more to the team than
the cheerleaders. Given the choice between telling TO he has to leave a
restaurant, and telling a cheerleader, which do you choose?

Similarly, given the choice between telling Gal Gadot she has to leave a
restaurant, and telling a male extra from the set of Wonder Woman, which do
you choose?

~~~
jacquesm
That makes no sense. Someone in the middle of the meal obviously gets to
finish their meal no matter who walks in the door. That's besides the point of
asking _anybody_ to leave which is ridiculous in the first place. People
should be able to eat in the same restaurant without busybodies micro managing
their lives.

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Fjolsvith
Non issue for me since I quit watching the NFL over their unpatriotic stance.

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coolso
I agree with KAJ on many of his points, but there are a couple I disagree
with.

I just don't see how a cheerleader having to leave a restaurant that a Saints
player walks into is equivalent to a black player having to leave if another
white player came in to eat. Why bring race into it? It's not even an
analogous situation, and it's obvious the rule - same with the one only
allowing them to say "hello" and "great game" to players - is to prevent the
bad optics that would undoubtedly arise from both situations. I can just see
TMZ making a huge deal about seeing a player and a cheerleader in the same
restaurant, and then it spreads all over Twitter, and then whenever we see
player X or cheerleader Y on screen, everyone is thinking "yeah, he's doing
cheerleader Y" or "ha, she's doing player X". Of course, lots of people
already wonder, but having a little more situational evidence makes it a
different story because there's at least some basis to it now.

Furthermore, I think it's totally stupid she got fired over the photo she got
fired for - if that's truly the only reason - but on the other hand, rules are
rules, and there are differences between that photo and the typical
cheerleading outfit or photoshoot. It may show less skin, but it's also
bedroom lingerie rather than a cheerleading outfit or bikini. And whereas
every time I see an NFL cheerleader she's smiling, in this particular photo,
she's not smiling at all, and has more of a "come hither" expression. [0]

I mean, looking at her other Instagram photos, I'm seeing dozens of "sexy"
pictures where she shows lots of skin, so clearly it's not like she was being
forced to be ultra-conservative and was being micromanaged by her team. It
sounds like they just basically said "don't wear bedroom attire" and "if
you're wearing something sexy, please just smile", and she violated that rule.

Finally, if these cheerleaders supposedly don't get paid enough, shouldn't it
be a good thing she got fired anyway? Now she has the exposure from being a
cheerleader of an NFL team - even prior to this situation - and is freed from
the shackles and can pursue better career options.

But yeah, I'm all for just getting rid of cheerleaders altogether, or at least
giving them better outfits.

[0] [https://www.instagram.com/p/BeZGvLuF5va/?hl=en&taken-
by=jaca...](https://www.instagram.com/p/BeZGvLuF5va/?hl=en&taken-
by=jacalynbailey)

~~~
bluedino
The rules against mixing cheerleaders and players is to protect the
cheerleaders from being exploited by the players.

~~~
jacquesm
At their expense?

If it is to protect them then why make them pay the price?

