Pimpin ain't easy

On Thursday May 10th, Linebacker Richard Seigler was first cut by the Steelers and then arrested on charges of running a Las Vegas prostitution ring. The 26 year-old attended high school in Las Vegas, and apparently spent the off season pimping put two escorts in his former hometown. Seigler was also charged with trying to entice a juvenile to become one of his prostitutes.

Also on March 10th, Steve McNair was arrested in Tennessee and charged with the states “DUI owner” law.

March 5th saw the arrest of Jaguars CB Ahmad Carroll on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, possession of ecstasy, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Football has entered its equivalent of baseball’s steroids era.

The crime era.

It seems like every day that you watch ESPN or look on the internet there is a story about a professional football player having a run-in with law.

The actual numbers? 35 players arrested in 2006 out of the 2,000 players in the league. That means 2% of the entire NFL population had arrests recorded in 2006.

This is not a new problem. In his 2001 state of the NFL address Paul Tagliabeu addressed the situation that had been brought into the media spotlight by Ray Lewis’s murder trial.

In 1998, Pros andCons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL, authors Benedict and Yaeger said that 21 percent of NFL players had been charged with at least one crime.

Has the number gone down since ’98? No. You must look at the population and see how many of them have ever been charged with a crime. This would include everything from crimes commited during their NFL careers, their college life, and youth.

This is a much larger population percentage than the earlier discussed 2%.

Profootballtalk.com has come up with the most creative way to track this phenominon in their “Turd Watch.” The website awards points to NFL teams based on the number and types of crimes people involved with the organization have been charged with. All staff are included in the numbers. You can check the project out at www.TurdWatch.com.

Football does not create criminals, it is just designed for them. It is one of the most violent sports ever played by mankind. In order to excel at this game you have to be an indivdual that does not only lack concern about your own physical well being, but also the physcial well being of your opponent. In fact, your job most Sunday’s is to physically cripple the person on the other side of the ball.

The people that make their way to the top of this sport are either extremely determined, or in some cases extremely violent sociopaths. If you add the idol worship that most of these players have had thrust onto them since high school you start to get the understanding of why some pro athletes would think they are above the law.

For every controversy in sports there has to be a posterchild for it to truly take hold on mainstream societies mind.

Baseball has Barry Bonds swinging his bat in defiance of their efforts to sweep the steroid days under the rug.

Football has the adventures and misadventures of Pacman Jones. Other players have been charged with crimes more severe than jones, but few have had as many run ins with the law as he has. What also makes him unique is that it was his infamous strip club shooting that finaly forced the leagues hand in terms of dealing with their players off the field problems.

He now symbolizes the crime era.

Will crime in the league stop?

No.

Players are human and will make mistakes. They will drive drunk, they will have problems with jealous guys at night clubs. However, we could see a decline in the numbers of crimes commited by the athletes.

Why does this all matter?

There are a generation of kids growing up with idols that think their role in society is to get rather than give. They get big contracts, freebies, and women. They exploit the lifestyle they have been given by the fans all while forgetting that their purpose is for the fans. They are a member of society that wears pads and a uniform. As a member of society these athletes should be held accountable not only for their actions, but also how their actions will effect others in the future.