Sunday, May 11, 2014

A Sportswriter run amok

A great sports writer got this one wrong. I admit I enjoy the articles of Ralph Vacchiano who is an excellent writer just short of the Myers gold standard.

The Christian Peter signing was part of the NY Giants history. Peter was signed only after immediately going into treatment voluntarily. His employment with the team was contingent upon the treatment. This treatment appears to have been followed. The NFL would be much better off if all teams followed this example.

Will Hill was not drafted by the Giants or anyone else. The first suspension was for Adderall which he has a legitimate need for. The current one is for Marijuana and it should be pointed out it is good enough for Barak Obama and Bill Clinton. Hill's issues should require a Christian Peter type of solution, but they don't seem to do this.

Domestic violence is a quirky issue. It frequently comes in the context of a divorce proceeding. When one points at a person with an arrest of this type the important point is context. Once again this can be mitigated
with proper mental health services.

The arrest of Ahmad Bradshaw for stealing a Playstation is absurd. There is quite a difference between Aaron Hernandez and stealing a video game system. The latter was a stupid act of youth and not the indication of a long term flaw

Like any other group the  instances of domestic violence arrests and DWI need to be taken into context.

Whether sports leagues should suspend people for acts done by Presidents and legal in certain areas is a larger question. The NFL would be better served by mandating costly structured treatment, but that is another issue,

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