Are Fans and NFL teams too demanding of players?

[jamf]

Do the fans and Coaches/Ownership have a right to tell players what they can and cant do in their personal lives?

Riding a motorcyle is a perfectly legal to do. But alot of people are crucifing Ben.R for getting in an accident.

I can understand a team wanting an injury waiver if a player wanted to play another sport exposing themselves to injury. Does motorcyle riding fall under that category?

My Personal Thoughts:
Fans are getting rediculous. Whats next? No Enzo Ferraris? No Driving Though the GHETTO? No unprotected sex? No going to the club? No Wearing Jewelry because it increases the risk of getting robbed?

Players owe it to the fans to be the best player and teammate they can be.
But the Players owe it to themselves to live how they want to live.

I dont want my employer to try to dictate what i can and can't do in my free time. As long as i show up to work on time and do my job to the best of my abilities, they have no right to comment on my personal lives. I feel the same goes for professional athletes.




Thank you for reading my late night rant. Let the usual Flaming begin!!!

[dmek25]

i dont know about anyone else...but if someone is willing to pay me millions but one of the stipulations is not riding a motorcycle, show me the money. with a binding contract, the player is actually an investment by the team and i feel well within their rights to try and protect that investment

[Redskins8588]

Originally Posted by jamf

Do the fans and Coaches/Ownership have a right to tell players what they can and cant do in their personal lives?

Riding a motorcyle is a perfectly legal to do. But alot of people are crucifing Ben.R for getting in an accident.

I can understand a team wanting an injury waiver if a player wanted to play another sport exposing themselves to injury. Does motorcyle riding fall under that category?

My Personal Thoughts:
Fans are getting rediculous. Whats next? No Enzo Ferraris? No Driving Though the GHETTO? No unprotected sex? No going to the club? No Wearing Jewelry because it increases the risk of getting robbed?

Players owe it to the fans to be the best player and teammate they can be.
But the Players owe it to themselves to live how they want to live.

I dont want my employer to try to dictate what i can and can't do in my free time. As long as i show up to work on time and do my job to the best of my abilities, they have no right to comment on my personal lives. I feel the same goes for professional athletes.




Thank you for reading my late night rant. Let the usual Flaming begin!!!

I dont think that you can compare an average joe's employer to that of a NFL player. For example, if I get in to an accident and cant come to work, my place of employment will go on with out me. Pittsburgh offense will not on and be just as good with out Ben taking the snaps...

And you are right as long as you can show up to work on time and perform your job to the best of your abilities, what you do on your time is none of there business, but is Ben going to be showing up for work on time and when he does will he be able to perform to the best of his abilities???

[Darrell_Green_28]

Originally Posted by dmek25

i dont know about anyone else...but if someone is willing to pay me millions but one of the stipulations is not riding a motorcycle, show me the money. with a binding contract, the player is actually an investment by the team and i feel well within their rights to try and protect that investment

I agree. I mean come on MILLIONS of DOLLARS and dont even wear a helmet? I Know people are going to say "but theyre not required in PA" Come on they make protective devices for a reason, doesnt matter if there is not a law requiring that you have to wear them. Is there a law that you have to wear a parachute when you skydive out of airplanes? dont think so but im sure that most do. and the ones that dont.. you know what happens..

[BigSKINBauer]

Teams invest in players and should have the right to tell them what to do. No one forces anyone to be a football player, its their choice. These types of things should go with the territory and if someone doesn't like it they shouldn't be football players. They are on call 7 months a year and get paid more in 7 years than the next three generations of our families hope to make. Anyone that invests in something has to protect their investment. If someone wants to play football they should give up reckless behavior for the 10 years they would be lucky to play at most.

[Daseal]

Part of the Big Ben thing is he was so adament about NOT wearing a helmet, now it's come to bite him in the ass. It's his life, but he may have just sacrificed his career.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by BigSKINBauer

Teams invest in players and should have the right to tell them what to do. No one forces anyone to be a football player, its their choice. These types of things should go with the territory and if someone doesn't like it they shouldn't be football players. They are on call 7 months a year and get paid more in 7 years than the next three generations of our families hope to make. Anyone that invests in something has to protect their investment. If someone wants to play football they should give up reckless behavior for the 10 years they would be lucky to play at most.

I agree with BSB, the teams should have the right to protect their investment. As fans we don't have the right to say what players should and shouldn't do any more than we have a right to say what our bankers, firefighters, teachers or favorite actor does. Yes we "pay their salaries" technically but in their free time if they wish to jeopardize that then that's their problem.

I'm glad that Ben is going to be ok, but I don't feel sorry for him. He made the decision to ride a motorcycle without a helmet knowing the risks and got burnt.

[MTK]

I definitely agree we're expecting too much to think a person can't do what they want in their free time. If they end up losing millions because of their actions that's their business.

[BigSKINBauer]

well obviously its their choice even if they sign a contract. I mean you can't actually stop them. You can only take money away which I think the teams should have full right over.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I don't think that teams are asking too much. I mean they are paying out the ass to expect their players to act like professionals. They are paying them to PLAY A GAME, millions of dollars, so you'd think it's not too much to ask for them to be responsible. Because if the team sucks the next year due to a certain player not being there, the owner catches the flak for the team not being good and the player will deservedly catch some flak because that's the business you're in. If you can't take the heat, well you know what to do.

[724Skinsfan]

Ben plays football. Ben also lives his life the way he wants to. If he really wanted to play professional football and maintain and long healthy career he would take all the necessary precautions. He's just living to whatever suits his fancy. I don't see anything wrong with that. I'm sorry he got injured, just like I'm sorry anybody gets injured. He's just a man that happens to be a professional sports athlete. The Pittsburgh Steelers have often been a championship level team long before Big Ben and they probably will continue to be one after. Maybe not in the immediate future but as they say: the game goes on.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Part of the Big Ben thing is he was so adament about NOT wearing a helmet, now it's come to bite him in the ass. It's his life, but he may have just sacrificed his career.

I agree that not wearing the helmet for extra protection was dumb on his part but if he was wearing an open face helmet the broken nose and jaw would have probably still occured.It would have prevented the cut to the back of the head and the picture I saw of the window you could see hair in the glass. I do agree that a team has the right to but things in a contract to protect their interest but the hard part is what is considered risky behavior. Its between him and the team. I would think if the Stealers thought that him riding a bike was that great of a risk they would have done something to have stoped him from riding. Even if its not in his current contract they could have done something to stop him from riding.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by 724Skinsfan

Ben plays football. Ben also lives his life the way he wants to. If he really wanted to play professional football and maintain and long healthy career he would take all the necessary precautions. He's just living to whatever suits his fancy. I don't see anything wrong with that. I'm sorry he got injured, just like I'm sorry anybody gets injured. He's just a man that happens to be a professional sports athlete. The Pittsburgh Steelers have often been a championship level team long before Big Ben and they probably will continue to be one after. Maybe not in the immediate future but as they say: the game goes on.

So you don't see anything wrong with doing something detrimental to your career in your free time? I'm not saying stop riding the bike, but at least wear a helmet.

[BigSKINBauer]

He let his team down. He is not only hurting himself. he is hurting an organization and as far as I am concerned they could tell him where and when to sleep if he signs a contract that says that. It should be a basic thing in contracts to have no cycles. This is a high caliber team and he puts people's careers in actions. They train hard and they expect everyone to do the same.

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

So you don't see anything wrong with doing something detrimental to your career in your free time? I'm not saying stop riding the bike, but at least wear a helmet.

Not at all. It's a choice that he made and without a doubt he was aware of the potential consequences. If Ben was all about football and playing for the Steelers he wouldn't have been on the motorcycle. His career is not as important to him as having a good time and enjoying himself. That's not the same as saying his career is not important. As far as his financial future, he will always have money, unless he's into heavy gambling or major substance abuse. If he's the free spirit that I think he is, nothing holds him back from doing the activiites that he wants to do. Ten years from now he may regret riding that motorcycle but right now he did what he felt like doing. Good for him.