Idiocy of the Elite

This past Friday night, NFL star wide receiver, Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg. Furthermore, it was inside of a Manhattan night club. More interestingly, however, he did it on accident. Burress spent the night in a hospital, but injuries don't appear to be life-threatening. I don't quite understand how this happens, though. Sarcastically, Matt Mosely of ESPN says it best. "This sort of thing almost never happens to me in clubs anymore." (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfceast/0-5-195/Burress--season-takes-another-bizarre-turn.html)

The scary part is, Plaxico Burress is not exactly unique. That is, he isn't the only NFL star to get into trouble like this. In fact, Adam "Pacman" Jones, a cornerback in the league, has been fined and suspended so many times, the league has stated that the next time he is in an unfavorable situation, he will be suspended from the league for life. This guy is in so much drama, I can't even remember it all. The amount of night club shootings that he's been present for could probably not be counted on two hands. The situation has become so ridiculous that even Lil Wayne says that, "I do not think Pacman Jones should be in the NFL. If I was the commissioner, I'd kick him out." (http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3728440) On an ESPN pregame show this morning, former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson stated that, if he had to guess, he would say that roughly 50% of NFL players carry handguns when in public. On the same pregame show, Former coach and player Mike Ditka suggested that the league adopt a zero gun possession tolerance policy. Under his plan, NFL players would not be permitted to own handguns under any circumstance. Unfortunately, it isn't solely members of the National Football League that get into trouble. Even the athlete who I admire most, Kobe Bryant, was involved in a rape trial.

Is it possible that this crazy behavior by athletes correlates to the amount of money they make? Do athletes feel like they are above the law because of who they are? We can never know for sure, but the fact is that Plaxico Burress signed a 35 million dollar contract at the beginning of this season. Since the deal was made, he's been nothing but a distraction to the team. It seems to me that the citizens in this country that are in the public eye the most, those who have the greatest opportunity to be a positive influence on the lives of others, screw it up in ways inconceivable to the average American.

Leagues, as a whole, do try to help the community and become positive role models. For example, the NFL has countless programs and charities. These charities include a broad range of things, like the NFL disaster relief fund and the Medical Research Grants Program. The NBA has a program, NBA Cares, that places athletes in communities to help. For example, many teams distributed Thanksgiving dinners on this past Turkey Day. However, it has been said that a team is only as strong as it's weakest member. This concept can be put onto a larger scale. A league can only be marketed to appear to be as positive in the community as it's weakest member. Even though many athletes have their own fundraisers and donate large sums of money to good causes, they will always be held down by those involved in night club shootings, rapings, and domestic abuse cases. No matter how hard leagues try to turn it around, each generation of children will grow up with role models who are so desensitized to guns that they don't use enough care to prevent themselves from being shot.