37 NFL players arrested so far this year - Ingles

At Sports Radio 850AM (Brighton, MA), Mikey and Ryder discuss the large amount of NFL players who have been arrested this year, and the reasons why they think it has escalated. Take a listen (scroll to time 6:56):

Watch this at WEEI

Whether it was for suspicion of intoxication, DUI, assault, possession of an illegal substance, weapons charges, or who knows what else, there’s no question that a good number of these elite level athletes are “behaving badly.” And yes, illegally.

As I listened to Mikey and Ryder bounce around from reason to reason as to why it seems that so many NFL elite become illegal misfits, I couldn’t help but think that the entitlement type attitudes some of these athletes have been raised with is an underlying factor.

Our sports culture has treated them to so many advantages and special treatment (even when they should have been held accountable) that they just figure the rules don’t apply to them. That they are above others, having rights the “average” person doesn’t have.

It is because of this that many of these athletes have developed character flaws that just don’t support a more humbling demeanor. The possibility of being a role model, as well as showing humility and restraint, doesn’t even cross their minds as they have completely disconnected themselves from these types of attributes. Basically, they’re ignorant of what their behavior says about them as people and the positive things their status could bring to others who hold them in high regard.

And until we (our sports culture) start insisting on higher behavioral expectations, and remove the “special treatment” type privileges some of these athletes have grown to expect (especially at younger developing ages), we will continue to get more of the same. This article was written by Kirk Mango and appeared in the Chicago Tribune.