We all subject ourselves to it. We are slaves to something, or someone. For me it seems to be work…and food…and TV…well, you get the picture. And while my work would seem to be a place that freedom of expression is not just allowed, but heralded (and it largely is), it’s also at the will and pleasure of my employer under the regulations that govern our business. It’s the same for any of us. Well, most of us. We enslave ourselves under varying conditions for the benefits of that slavery. We all give up something to be where we want to be employment wise. It’s how we make our livings.
Given that frame, the NFL is the most visible group of plantation owners in the country. Each owner has the best group of employees they can assemble, high paid as they are, that are traded and bargained for as if they were prized cattle. They are under contract that requires certain behaviors and restricts others. They must be in shape and capable of the assigned duties. They must refrain from some behaviors that might be detrimental to that performance. Some other behaviors are allowed, but within limits. And some appear to be allowed with no limits at all. The bigger the talent, the more the forgiveness that is available.
And now it seems that many of the employees are involved in a revolt of sorts that has the potential to damage all of the plantations and the association to which they belong that is responsible for fair enforcement of behavior standards. Only the association is lost when it comes to being fair and consistent in this duty. That compounds the problem.
The result is the appearance that the workers run the plantations and the association with little regard for their product and therefore their livelihoods. In fact, the overseers…er…managers of the employees are joining the employees in the distraction. Sometimes the owners are joining in, as are the Chief Overseers in the league office.
This is a recipe for disaster for the NFL. They are an entertainment vehicle, period. While these high paid athletes may very well be ticked for whatever reason, good or bad, they are still employees and in fact, slaves just like the rest of us, albeit high paid ones. Their conduct is subject to regulation that is not happening and it is alienating the people who pay the teams for the privilege of watching them perform. The circus animals are ruining the show today.
If the NFL doesn’t get a handle on this the league can be permanently scarred and may not recover to the glory days it once heralded. We all have responsibilities to our employers and how much we are paid or how talented we are makes absolutely no difference. We provide a value to our employers only until we do not. For many of the NFL’s players that day may just be closer than they think.
Protest all you want on your own time and away from your employer’s place of business. Hold the value of your product in esteem and work to enhance it and not tear it down, else you find yourself being marketed to another plantation.
After all, we are all slaves to one degree or another, even if it’s to our own emotions.