NFL Off-Topic

Also a quick note to say how terribly disappointed I am in Aaron Hernandez.  I fully believe that one is innocent until proven guilty, but it is not looking good for his innocence right now.  As a Florida Gator, and a football fan in general I'm devastated.  It's bad for the Gator Nation, and really bad for all the kids out there who idolized Hernandez.  Murder is not okay, and if he did do it, and gets away with it, it's a terrible message to America's youth.

On one of the sports boards I'm a member of, a troll posted "Is it time to shut the NFL down?"  I know you're not supposed to feed the trolls, but I simply couldn't resist, especially after he said the NBA wasn't a bad example the way the NFL "is".


I replied:
NFL:
32 teams - final 53 man roster with an 8 man practice squad
total # of players: 1952
NBA:
30 teams - final 15 man roster with occasional exemptions when 3 or more players are injured
total # of players: 450

If [another board member who posted earlier] is correct and 1.7% of NFL players (let's say 2,000 per annum) get arrested yearly, and 5.1% of NBA players (let's say 500 per annum) get arrested yearly, that's 34 NFL arrests and 25.5 NBA arrests when the NFL is FOUR TIMES LARGER than the NBA...I'd say we have a problem with the NBA. 


The troll later replied out most of the NBA crimes are driving without a license and marijuana which "aren't as bad" as murder and therefore it was all okay.  I don't believe that for a second (plenty of football convictions for drugs, sadly), especially when you remember Chris "Birdman" Andersen being arrested for possession of child pornography. 

I'm not arguing for a second that we should get rid of the NFL OR the NBA.  What I do think is that there should be a stricter policy for athletes' off the field behavior.  Too many arrests, or one bad conviction (I'd let certain traffic offenses slide), and you're out.  Let's face it, if you're working for a trucking company and get a DUI you lose your job and never get hired again.

Considering all the nasty things that have been happening around NFL players, this is definitely something the league should consider.