Some are criticized for lack of forthright principles or are looked upon with scornful eyes as we compromise some political position. However, many engage in the fine art of conciliating, balancing, and interpreting facets of opinion. We mentally thread the needle, balance the justification, and mold the means to justify the ends. I did it. I’m sure many do it today. And damn, we are not profiles of courage.
Let’s take a quick look at the justice and injustice of life within the NFL.
- Robert Kraft dodged charges from a prostitution sting. The Orchids of Asia employees pleaded guilty.
- Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson has been suspended 11 games and fined $5 million after NFL and NFLPA reached a settlement. Twenty-four civil lawsuits were filed against Watson. Twenty-three were settled confidentially. Cleveland Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam stated Deshaun Watson deserves a second chance like Kareem Hunt.
- Kareem Hunt found employment within several months despite videos capturing his shoving and kicking a woman on the floor of a hotel hallway.
- Colin Kaepernick exercised his constitutional right seasons ago to protest social injustice and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem. His punishment? Excommunication from the weekly meeting of the ‘Ignorant Tight-Ass Club’ (i.e., NFL).
In his book, Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy recounted the stories of those who risked their careers to do what was right. Of the four stories listed above, only Kaepernick resembles anything close to courage. Kennedy stated courageousness requires no exceptional qualifications, magic formula, or special combination of time, place, and circumstance. However, it is an opportunity that, sooner or later, is presented to us all.
Unfortunately, most of us (including yours truly) fail. Why?