Locked And Loaded

Professional sports has always been an  escape for all of us, its been an arena for all of us to forget our daily troubles and fantasize about being the hero of the day. As as we have seen Sports has become more and more about drug use, gun violence, assault charges, broken contracts, trash talking, and other illegal activities making it more about our society's problems then actual wins and losses. The topic of the day and what seems to be a perpetual obsession with this subject is steroids in baseball, we have been talking about it for a number of years at this point, but there are actually bigger problems than that in sports. The NFL the originators of steroid use, and who have managed beautifully to erase that fact from their history, have a much bigger and more deadly problem than any sport has ever faced. GUN USE...Gun violence in the NFL has become epidemic. It seems that having a gun is a must in the NFL...A right of  passage. No gun no fun. Most of the time the players guns are not even legally owned. The violence and deaths caused by these gun owning players and other arrests for assault, rape etc. have made the NFL's logo in some circles stand for National Felony League. Aaron Hernandez's arrest for murder is just the latest example of violent crimes committed by  NFL players. Not long ago the Cincinnati Bengals in one season had 11 players arrested on felony charges. Since the end of the 2013 season 28 NFL players have been charged with felonies. Unfortunately many of the crimes that these players commit are murder. Just ask OJ, Ray Lewis or Jason Williams to name a few. Wife beatings, assaults and rapes only add to the problem. The problem may start as early as when these players hang out with gang members while playing in the league, or come from that background originally. Maybe it is the steroids kicking in over time. It really doesn't matter how the problem started the issue at hand is that these players are literally locked and loaded and ready to rock n roll is always a bad combination. Mix in a street gang mentality and it's only a matter of time until someone's laying stiff and cold on the ground. Guns are a problem in our everyday society, in the NFL they have become a way of life.  What's the most remarkable thing about this is that the league has been able to continue to wave a flag of marketing heroism, ignoring this problem and avoiding the reality that the victims lives have made so apparent. Steroid use in baseball and other sports is a terrible thing for the integrity of the games, but it's not a life and death result when things go wrong. I'd rather have steroids running through my veins then lead running through my body. The NFL cannot hide anymore. Criminal records and gun possession should not be part of a prospects resume, the NFL needs to enforce stricter background checks and personal interviews to eliminate some of these issues before other people die. Coaches, General Managers, and owners need to take responsibility for this epidemic. Gifted athletes have always been given a pass, passing on this issue now, only means more funerals.