Are Fans and NFL teams too demanding of players?

[Monkeydad]

Are we asking too much for players to have common sense?

No.

From the owners' standpoints, are they asking too much for players to protect themselves and stay in the playing condition that they signed the contract under?

No.

When it comes to Ben Roethlisberger, Im more upset about his possible liability on every taxpayer and insurance customer than his possible breach of contract with the Steelers if he can't play or has affected his playing abilities through his stupidity. Sure, Governor Rendell repealed the helmet law in PA a few years ago, but the legality of something doesn't make it smart or even healthy. Cigarettes are legal, but if you smoke and get cancer you have no one to blame but yourself. Bungee jumping is legal, but if you get whiplash....your problem as well. It's not illegal to sleep around or be gay, but when you get STDs...you must learn to reap what you've sown.

When it comes to people who choose to ride motorcycles without helmets, you're taking a risk that will likely cost you your life or at least your health. They should again have to take responsibility for their actions, but in reality, they won't have to. Their motorcycle insurance and health insurance will pay for their amplified injuries from not wearing a helmet. It won't come out of their own pocket, but it will come out of the pocket of everyone who pays taxes to keep the hospitals open and from everyone who will help pay the higher insurance rates from their stupidity. I think that if you want to ride without a helmet, you should have the freedom to do so since it's your life. However, with freedom ALWAYS comes responsibility and you should pay for your own injuries that result from your decision. People like Ben should have to pay for their own surgeries that were easily preventable with a helmet. The same should be true with seatbelts; if you are ejected from your car because you didn't wear your seatbelt, that's your decision to choose that outcome but you should also pay for your mistake instead of expecting everyone else to pay for your risk-taking. Just as a I don't like paying for people's herpes treatments from being irresponsible, I don't like the idea of paying my share of someone else's medical costs because they were stubborn or just like having wind and bugs in their hair.

Personal responsibility makes life better for everyone. The responsible stay safe and healthy and the irresponsible learn lessons. Society has grown to expect the government and everyone else to pay for their laziness, their risk-taking or their ignorance. Women now have babies without having a husband just for a larger check from the government every month. People quit working because they can get paid for staying home. Others have sex with anything that moves because they think that's a right, but then think it's a right to kill their baby when they have an "unexpected" pregnancy. If someone loses all of their money gambling, they don't deserve any government help (welfare).

Personally, I'm getting a little sick of taking care of these people.

I hope this bonehead move by Ben prompts owners to put some clauses into all contracts to protect their investments. Kellen Winslow Jr. should've taught Ben a lesson, but it obviously didn't.

I won't be upset if he's not the player he used to be. He brought it on himself. I just heard a report that he didn't have a PA Motorcycle license. If that's true, he really deserves any consequences from his actions.

I hate seeing anyone hurt and I pray he'll be ok as a person for his family's sake, but if he ended his football career or even limited it with this situation, I won't have any sympathy.

In the end, he's no better than anyone else and I'd feel the same way if he was a "common" person.

He needs to get his priorities straight and start taking some responsibility in his life. Despite what the media might say, he's not Superman and when it comes to his health and life, he has the same responsibilities as any of us.

I hope this does spur a reversal of Rendell's repeal of the helmet law. He did it for purely political purposes in the first place and most residents here in PA opposed it and forsaw this exact outcome of it. Fatalities from non-helmet wearers in PA have tripled and for what reason? The "right" to endanger your life and put your death on the conscience of a possibly innocent car driver? The lady that Ben ran into was a 62 year-old lady who by all accounts so far, wasn't at fault. Now she's on public record as the lady who hurt the star QB because HE WASN'T WEARING A HELMET. I hope people are sensible and leave her alone but there's always idiots who will harass her. Also, I'll be paying a share of his medical and insured costs that would've been treatment for some bruises and roadrash that is now a surgery, hospitalization and rehab.

You have the freedom to be stupid, but if you are...pay for it yourself.

[Schneed10]

No way is it asking too much for these guys to be responsible. Many people in this thread have talked about the money involved, teams have a financial interest, front office guys have their jobs tied to the success of the team, etc.

But what's getting lost here is that many football players say that they play the game to win a championship, they don't play it for the money. Of course they want the money, and it's a big motivator. But any football player worth his weight is motivated by winning first and foremost.

Everytime you smoke weed or ride a motorbike you're compromising your ability to help your team win games. It says either that you're too dumb to recognize the risks, or you don't care so much about winning.

I can't fault fans for being upset. They want their team to win, and to see a player do anything that compromises the team's ability to win is incredibly disheartening. Being responsible is part of being a good teammate. You can't win games if you're paralyzed.

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

No way is it asking too much for these guys to be responsible. Many people in this thread have talked about the money involved, teams have a financial interest, front office guys have their jobs tied to the success of the team, etc.

But what's getting lost here is that many football players say that they play the game to win a championship, they don't play it for the money. Of course they want the money, and it's a big motivator. But any football player worth his weight is motivated by winning first and foremost.

Everytime you smoke weed or ride a motorbike you're compromising your ability to help your team win games. It says either that you're too dumb to recognize the risks, or you don't care so much about winning.

I can't fault fans for being upset. They want their team to win, and to see a player do anything that compromises the team's ability to win is incredibly disheartening. Being responsible is part of being a good teammate. You can't win games if you're paralyzed.

Well said!

[TheMalcolmConnection]

So we are all in concensus that it's NOT too much to ask?

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

So we are all in concensus that it's NOT too much to ask?

taking care of your responsibilities, MAN LAW!

[gibbsisgod]

Man Law!

[724Skinsfan]

I suppose it's not too much to ask but think about being a high school or college level athlete and being told that once you get into the pros you're going to have your freedom of choice severley limited. Most guys will be cool with it since they are going to be making a lot of money. A few others, who like to rebel against the system are going to say forget you! It's the professional sports teams responsibility to determine who these people are before they sign them.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

taking care of your responsibilities, MAN LAW!

MAN LAW indeed.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

MAN LAW indeed.

because, when you gotta pet, you gotta responsiblity. You don't ride around like an idiot and then call it a career. You put on your f'in helmet and you play some f'in football!

[Spaceman Spiff]

Not gonna take all the time to read all the posts, as I'm a bit short on time...

But think if Big Ben was a good friend or something and not the Steelers QB who you know and love (or maybe you don't?).

Anyway, if Big Ben was a good friend of yours, you'd be upset with him if he was riding a bike without a helmet and without a license. Right?

Football fans look at themselves and the players of their favorite team as family and friends. It's like one big happy family or something, especially when your team is good. You see other Skins fans at tailgates, games, bars and you automatically have something in common. If you see a player like Portis on TV, you feel like you know him and know what he's about. So would it be too much to ask a friend or someone you really care about to ask a helmet? Certainly not.

And for those of us who are removed from the Steeler family, we look at this situation as a qb with immense talent who nearly could have thrown it all away. And for what? Something stupid like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. What about the Dolphins? How many of us were pissed off at Rickey Williams because he's a great running back but threw it all away for weed.

It's like a parent watching a kid with a 160 IQ get C's and D's because they don't care about school or watching a talented friend you deeply care about wasting away on drugs or continually making boneheaded decisions.

I also feel that we get upset at athletes such as this because we all would instantly trade places with them. It's a jealousy thing. How many of us have sat here watching this whole Big Ben thing thinking to ourselves that if we were him, we'd NEVER do something that stupid? Getting paid that much money to play football? Why risk it on a motorcycle?

Because they're people, just like you and me. And they make mistakes, and thats what we forget sometimes because they're larger than life. Big Ben being an idiot is just like that best friend who makes bad decisions and then wonders why he's getting screwed over during the aftermath. And we've all been there, we've all had people like that in our lives.

So it's not that much to ask at all.

[That Guy]

he has a job, he has a LOT of other people that count on him. It's not like he's a boxer. He also gets paid MILLIONS. part of that contract includes taking care of ones self to the best of ones ability.

lots of techies get cell phones from work and can be called in at 2am on weekends if something goes down, don't they have a right to live their life the way they want too?

the answer is no, cause they knew the term of the contract and agreed to sign it anyways.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by That Guy

he has a job, he has a LOT of other people that count on him. It's not like he's a boxer. He also gets paid MILLIONS. part of that contract includes taking care of ones self to the best of ones ability.

lots of techies get cell phones from work and can be called in at 2am on weekends if something goes down, don't they have a right to live their life the way they want too?

the answer is no, cause they knew the term of the contract and agreed to sign it anyways.

That's similiar to the way I was thinking. Basically, in my mind, I feel like him signing the contract is like becoming a dad. Once you have a kid you don't have to stop doing all the dumb stuff you could do pre-kid, but you probably should because now there are more people counting on you and your well being than there were before. Granted, I'm not a father yet, but I think some of you dad's out there will agree with me (happy early father's day).

[Longtimefan]

There comes a time in every man's life when he has to make decisions. The difference between a mature man and an imature one is the ability, "or lack thereof" to make smart decisions based on sound judgement. While the subject of Ben's accident has been discussed throughly by football, and non football fans alike, there are very few who will maintain the fact he made a good decision. Therefore I maintain the fact that no one should have to remind him of the dangers of indulging in risky behavior. What I am interested in seeing now is, once Ben has recovered to the extent of making a public statement just what he will say now about his decision to ride without a helmet.

[Pocket$ $traight]

Here is my position. No one has the right to tell anybody what to do with their free time. However, if you choose to do something completely idiotic, like riding a motorcycle without a helmet, you better be ready to accept the criticism if you screw up. I heard a point on the radio today that I think makes a lot of sense. As a QB of a football team you should be held to a higher standard because every guy on the team is depending on you. Not to mention the middle class fan who is giving up a significant amount of their disposable income every year to support you.

Big Ben has the right to do whatever he wants and he also deserves every negative comment. He let his fans, his team, the league and himself down.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Grim21Reaper

Big Ben has the right to do whatever he wants and he also deserves every negative comment. He let his fans, his team, the league and himself down.

You just said exactly what I've been thinking this whole time, and in much fewer words.