2014: The Year of Football Trouble

For me, 2014 will always be remembered as the year of scandalous news in sports, specifically football. The NFL's image has taken a major hit. From domestic violence on an elevator to a child being disciplined with a switch till his skin was bloodied and bruised. 

(via ESPN, Photo Credit: Peter Yang for ESPN - 

found on EliteDaily)

In my zen humble opinion, it should be a prerequisite for athletes to take sensitivity classes, do some yoga and meditate, which should help center their mind, spirit and balance their aggressive behavior. These classes should be offered starting at the little league level and all the way up through the major leagues. The Seahawks meditates and does yoga...so why can't it be a consideration for everyone else? (If you have a better idea leave them in the comment box below.)

The most recent news on the field comes from Sayreville War Memorial High School in Parlin, New Jersey.
The team has been suspended from participating in any games for the 2014-2015 school year because of sexual hazing allegations. Five Sayreville head football coaches have since been suspended for the hazing scandal and seven players have been arrested for hazing younger players on the team. (See: Sayreville suspends football coaches after hazing scandal) 

It's good to see football players getting disciplined at all levels - high school right up to the professional level. A little too late for some, but it's a start. 

(From of www.metro.us
weekend October 17-19, 2014)

Meanwhile, there was one football player's drama that slipped past my radar. Florida State University's quarterback, Jamies Winston has been accused of sexual assault in December 2012. I totally missed that one but I got wind of it when Charles Orlando, a columnist and author of the book The Problem with Women ... is Men, wrote an open letter to Winston. 

Orlando broke it down and called out the "enablers" of Winston who controls him like a puppet on strings. "You don't actually have power; the people who are making money off your talent have the power." 

Now there is a straight forward opinion that I haven't heard spoken out loud or seen written in black and white. The following is part of Orlando's open letter to Winston:


Mr. Winston:

I’ve been following your college football career at Florida State University as quarterback for the Seminoles. You have an incredible arm, and your insight into a defense’s secondary is enviable. You’re a Heisman Trophy winner—the youngest ever, actually—and have been expected to be the top pick in the 2015 NFL draft. You should be proud, as your accomplishments on the field have been amazing. And just think: All you had to do to achieve your goals was work hard, practice every day, stay focused on your prize and … sell your honor and humanity.

Just in case you’ve been hiding behind the FSU Athletic Department’s deafening silence—or your lawyer’s rhetoric—you were accused of sexual assault in December 2012. Your accuser was a student at FSU and, according to witness accounts, she allegedly met you at Potbelly’s—the campus bar—and headed back to your place with your roommate Chris Casher and friend Ronald Darby, both FSU football players, too. And then … well … things get murky there, don’t they? (AlthoughWalt Bogdanich at The New York Times did an outstanding job earlier this year outing the colossal legal joke-of-an-investigation.)

It would be easy to take cheap shots at you for your alleged* actions … your sick, pathetic, cowardly alleged* actions that are devoid of any form of humanity or masculinity, and which may have stolen the smile and the future from a female FSU freshman. But as I consider the entirety of what has transpired, I can’t (and won’t) blame you solely for what allegedly* took place. Not because you aren’t a predator—which I’m of the opinion you are––even though you have not been convicted (or even charged, for that matter). Not because you need help—which, if the accusations are correct, you most assuredly do (and I mean real mental help, not the legal shield you hide behind nor the buried ostrich heads of the FSU Athletic Department). And not because you deserve forgiveness—which you don’t, as you are responsible for your actions. It is because you were assisted in your efforts. ...

Here is the link to the full article. Get ready for a jaw dropper beause Orlando really gives Winston and his crew a good pen lashing.


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-@TCsViews