NFL 'thug' reputation inaccurate

Another NFL player arrested? What's new? It happens all the time, right?

No, it doesn't.

Actually, it happens with less frequency than the general public's arrest rate.

Washington Redskins and former Miami Hurricanes standout Sean Taylor was charged Saturday with aggravated assault with a firearm and a misdemeanor charge of simple battery. Most folks yawned and figured it was a typical NFL player, getting into typical trouble.
That's the perception, a league run amok with thugs, gangstas and hoodlums, a bunch of young, rich black guys (mostly), who can't suppress their aggressive nature or overcome their criminal instincts.

But The Associated Press made an unofficial count of NFL arrests since the end of last season and came up with 16. The report said Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy has tracked NFL arrests for a decade and finds that the number of offseason arrests is usually 18-25 of the 2,900 players under contract during that period.

In other words, less than 1 percent (.009 at most).

Now consider the FBI's 2003 Uniform Crime Report. It found that the national arrest rate — excluding traffic offenses — was 4,695.1 per 100,000 in population (.047).

"Athletes are no more immune from committing crimes," said Richard Lapchick, director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports. "They're just higher profile than the public at large."

Two of Dungy's players were arrested recently. Safety Mike Doss is accused of firing a gun in the air outside a bar, and cornerback Nick Harper is accused of hitting his wife. Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis and linebacker Terrell Suggs missed minicamp due to run-ins with the criminal justice system, Lewis in a halfway house on drug charges and Suggs on trial for assault.

It takes about 29 player arrests to equal 1 percent. You need another 107 player arrests to reach the national rate.

Yet the perception persists, this nagging notion that players are out of control.

I'm not surprised, considering that large segments of the masses spend countless hours frying their brains on the most inane TV programs imaginable. Those folks aren't savvy enough to realize the impact of overactive media attention on celebrities.

But since most young knuckleheads don't make millions playing sports, their dirty deeds rarely circulate outside their locale. Conversely, even the most obscure NFL players running afoul of the law can land in the national news roundup.

Don't mistake my understanding for sympathy. If athletes don't want the spotlight they should exit the stage. Extra attention and added scrutiny come with the contract, just like signing bonuses and incentive clauses.

Doing the right thing should be motivation enough. But if not, the knowledge that everyone's watching should keep NFL players in line.

And it does.

At least 99 percent of them.
Published by news-press.com