Photo by Patrick Smith
As the commissioner of the National Football League, it is my pleasure to speak out in times of crisis for the league. I relish the opportunity to stand up to these challenges and address them in a forthright and honorable manner. However, as the public representative of one of the largest business conglomerates in the entire world, it is my obligation to speak out in times of crisis for the world outside of the National Football League. If men in my position fail to take a stand when the going gets tough, when the words that have yet to be spoken need to be said, when the ball is on the one-yard line and needs to be jammed home for the go-ahead score, what does that say about men like me? What does that say about the National Football League? What does that say about America?
It says something that doesn’t sound good, that’s what. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of message we have all seen broadcast from Baltimore this past week. What’s happening in Baltimore in the name of justice is, to be blunt, deplorable. The atmosphere of fear and violence that has been instigated and promulgated by certain factions both inside and outside of Baltimore should not, and cannot, be tolerated. And the people responsible for this abominable behavior should be ashamed of themselves. They should be ashamed of the contemptible words that fall out of their mouths, they should be ashamed for the actions that have been abetted by those words, and they frankly should be ashamed for the lives they have lead.
I’m speaking, of course, about those dangerous self-appointed pundits in the social-mediasphere equating the celebrations that follow the winning of a sports championship with the riots that have nearly decimated the home of one of the NFL’s most honorable franchises. The irresponsibility exercised by these know-it-alls is as damaging to the world of sports as those unjustified riots are to the small business owners whose livelihoods are being ruined beyond redemption.
https://twitter.com/FEM1NIST/status/593079311491407874
Clearly, these people don’t understand the difference between well-respected tax-paying citizens reveling in the glory that comes with bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy home, and a group of thugs finding any sort of flimsy excuse to pound their chests and destroy private property. Celebrating after a victory is an honored tradition that goes back to the days of vikings and gladiators, when actual lives were on the line day in and day out. After successfully conquering a city and its populace, it only made sense for these valiant warriors to expend their pent-up energies on whatever or whomever came across their path. To put in in more modern terms: They worked hard, so they played hard. And what better way to celebrate the victories of today’s valiant warriors than for their fans to emulate their venerable predecessors? Some might claim these “riots” are “destructive” and “pointless.” I say they’re an extension of our rights — as citizens of the greatest country of the world — to free speech, a right that every person (within reason) should be allowed to exercise. Furthermore, I say these exuberant demonstrations are a part of who we are, and we should never deny, or be forced to deny, who we are.
Meanwhile, policemen have one of the toughest jobs in the world. The lives of the people they’re sworn to protect are literally in their hands. The pressures they work under are unimaginable. And, as hard as it is to accept, sometimes mistakes are made. And sometimes these mistakes happen in such a way that, if looked at in a certain light, patterns of abuse and oppression can be suggested. And sometimes these patterns can be unintentionally supported by the words and actions of those in power. But such semi-frequent mistakes and statistical aberrations and ill-timed public displays of incompetence don’t give people the right to express their dissent so publicly. The key part of the word “civilization” is “civil,” and the key part of the word “society” is “social.” That kind of behavior is the complete opposite of either of those two words, as well as the two words that those two words are part of.
It's ok to riot in baltimore when the ravens win the Super Bowl. Notice all the black people. pic.twitter.com/ojsPZy4Alj
— ismoke (@ismokegoodonly) April 28, 2015
To put it simply, this is not how people that want to be a part of civilized society should act. There are words I could use to describe such third-world savagery, but they would undoubtedly be misconstrued, so I’ll refrain from using them. I only wish those carelessly equating the fine fans of the National Football League and other professional sports leagues with the hooligans running wild in the city made famous by The Wire and the 2012 Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens were a fraction as mindful.
My thoughts & prayers, and the thoughts and prayers of everyone in the front offices of the National Football League, are with the government of the City of Baltimore & those fine upstanding citizens affected by the property damage.
Roger Goodell is the Commissioner of the National Football League. A letter written by the NFL Players Association in response to Goodell’s handling of the 2012 referee lockout asserted that “[Goodell’s] actions are looking more and more like simple greed.”