The hypocrisy that is the NFL's "Pinktober"

I’ve long had a major problem with the NFL’s observance of Breast Cancer Awareness in October and the main reason is that it’s the biggest load of hypocrisy that I’ve ever seen.

Pink, pink everywhere...
Courtesy Photo

The mockery of the “Pinktober” celebration by the NFL feels not only insincere but almost patronizing - let’s have our multimillionaire male athletes and our beautiful young cheerleaders wear cute hot pink things for the month of October because – yay! – we support women and breast cancer! Be so proud of us! Look how progressive we are! We are a male-dominated sport with a history of ignoring domestic violence but we know we have female fans so, sure, we support you! And, ignore the fact that we clearly don’t support women in other ways because for four games a year we wear pink!

I, for one, am not fooled, NFL.

We’re expected to applaud the NFL for wearing pink in October - the same NFL that routinely lets players who have histories of domestic violence and/or sexual abuse against women play a game in front of millions of fans and make millions of dollars while the women not only suffer in silence but are also shamed for what happened to them. Wow, how noble of you.

Now please don’t get this wrong – breast cancer is decidedly a big deal that affects more than 200,000 people and kills more than 40,000 people in the U.S. each year. But here is the most disgusting part of the entire NFL “Pinktober” – HOW LITTLE MONEY GOES TO BREAST CANCER AWARENESS OR RESEARCH.

You see, these devious NFL executives and billionaire owners, they’ve figured out yet ANOTHER way to make more money – by letting us THINK we’re buying all of this pink paraphernalia to help an amazing cause, but in actuality, THEY ARE MAKING MONEY OFF OF IT. Oh yes, you read that right. According to Business insider, the NFL is keeping 90 percent of the profit from the sale of Breast Cancer Awareness gear – yes, 90%. It is enough to make my blood boil. (Note: the NFL did make sure to mention to the Business Insider that they donate $1 million per year to breast cancer awareness charities. I’d like to mention that the NFL’s revenue is nearly $10 billion a year.)

Every October – and October only – the NFL trots women out who have or have had breast cancer, gives them the support and encouragement they desperate deserve, but they do it in a way that’s always felt disingenuous. Case in point: current Steelers and former Carolina Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams’ mother, Sandra Hill, passed away after a long battle with breast cancer in 2014. For years, she was trotted out each October by the Panthers to be honored as a breast cancer survivor. However, when she passed away from the disease in 2014, not a single member of the organization came to her funeral. So, just to get it straight – the Panthers used Williams’ mom as face of team each October for Breast Cancer Awareness, then ignored her death to the disease they "support."

Today, it was reported that Williams asked the NFL if he could wear pink all season – instead of just October – to honor his mother and FOUR aunts who have all died from breast cancer. The NFL said no. If the NFL really cared about women and breast cancer, why not let Williams honor his mother and aunts? Now, I know there are uniform regulations, but I have a hard time believing anyone would have a problem with a mean wearing a little bit of pink all season to honor the five women in his life who have died of breast cancer. To me, it shows that the NFL is using October as a ploy to appease female fans, more than as a way to actually support breast cancer awareness. This is the problem I’ve always had with the show the NFL has made “Pinktober” into: the one time they’ve been asked to really show their support – by letting a man who lost four aunts and his mother to the deadly disease honor them by wearing pink all season, they showed they true colors – which are decidedly not pink – and said no. Not only that - but they make money off of the observance. 

Frankly, it's disgusting.

The Hotties of the 2014 World Cup

Here they are ladies (and gentlemen), the players to watch in the 2014 World Cup (sorry I'm a bit late). Though some of the perennial powers are out (Italy, Spain, England), there is still a lot of soccer/football to watch, and the men of this list make it worth your while.

Robin van Persie, The Netherlands 

The Dutch captain and Manchester United striker is one of the best in the world. In the first three games of the tournament, van Persie scored twice (playing just two games – he was out of the third with two yellow cards) including what will undoubtedly be on the list of best goals of the tournament.

Relationship status: Married with two children. Since he was 20—yes, 20.

Gerard  Piqué, Spain

It was difficult to pick the best photo of the Spain and Barcelona defender. He is a World Cup champion (2010), a UEFA Euro champion (2012), and a three-time UEFA Champions League champion (2007-2008 with Manchester United; 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 with Barca). Individually, he has been named La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year (2009), La Liga Best Defender (2010), FIFA/FIFPro World XI (2010, 2011, 2012), UEFA Team of the Year (2010, 2011, 2012), ESM Team of the Year (2011), and UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament (2012). He may be the single reason I'm sad Spain is out of the World Cup.

Relationship Status: You may have heard of his girlfriend, Shakira (who is ten years his senior). They met when Piqué was featured in the music video for Shakira's song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They have a son.

Glen Johnson, England

I mean... really. There aren't many men in England who look like this. The Liverpool defender has 54 caps for England and one goal since 2003. He is one of three children of a single mother, who at times was homeless. But he credits his mother's strength and resolve for helping him develop a football career. 

Relationship status: Married with two children.

Graham Zusi, USA

This handsome devil plays midfield for the good-ol' US-of-A and is a two-time Sporting Kansas City MVP. He played college soccer at the University of Maryland, where he won the National Championship in 2005 and 2008, scoring the game-winning goal in the 2008 National Semi-Final and Championship Games. This was to be Zusi's breakout year... thus far the World Cup hasn't gone, for him, as he would have liked. Let's hope he can turn things around.

Relationship status: Appears to be single. Goooooooooooooooooooooooool!

Andrea Barzagli, Italy

The Italian and Juventus midfielderis known for his powerful physical build, and for being "strong in terms of anticipation, concentration and positional sense."* His calm composure, pace, consistency and ball playing ability have recently enabled him to be regarded as one of the best and most complete defenders in the world.

* Horncastle, James. "Serie A Team of the Year". espnfc.com. Retrieved 23 May 2013.

Relationship status: Married with two children

Granit Xhaka, Switzerland

The 21-year-old Swiss midfielder plays professionally in Germany for Borussia Mönchengladbach. His family is Albanian, but moved to Basel from Kosovo shortly before he was born. His older Taulant, is also a professional soccer player who plays professionally for Basel and internationally for Albania. Granit scored in Switzerland's 5-2 loss to France, but the team advanced to the Round of 16 with a 2-1 record.

Bonus: his teammates call him "young Einstein" because of his intelligence and love of science. He is of Albanian decent. 

Relationship status: Single. He is 21, after all. 

Olivier Giroud, France 

Ummm... yeah. The France and Arsenal striker and is known for his size, physical style of play, heading ability, shot power, strength and link-up play. He has 32 caps and 9 goals for France since 2011.

Relationship status: Married since 2011 with a child. But admitted in early 2014 to cheating with model Celia Kay. He previously denied to transgression, but the "model" then posted photos of Giroud in his hotel room. After the incident, his wife went back to France. Since then, no news of a divorce has been reported.

Joe Hart, England

The 27-year-old English goalkeeper has won two Premier League titles with Manchester City (2011-12, 2013-14). Individually he's been named the Premier League's top goalie three times and to the Premier League Team of the Year twice.

Relationship status: Engaged with a baby on the way.

Nacer Chadli, Belgium

The 24-year-old Belgian winger plays professionally for the team with the best name in sports, Tottenham Hotspur(no s). Chandli holds duel citizenship in Belgium and Morocco, and made his debut for Morocco Nov. 17, 2010, in a friendly against Northern Ireland where he was named man of the match. On January 28, 2011, he announced his intention to represent Belgium at international level, which was permitted as he had not played in a competitive match for Morocco, and made his debut for the national squad for a 9 February friendly match against Finland. A good decision, since I don't see Morocco in the World Cup. In his professional and international career, Chandli has 74 goals in 250 games - not too shabby.

Relationship status: Single!

Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Russia

Let's start with this: he is the most prolific scorer in the history of Russian soccer. In 2014, he scored his 26th international goal for Russia, breaking the previous record. Amid a messy divorce (and cheating allegations), Kerzhakov said of his daughter, "Thanks to her I learned about responsibility: that`s what happens when you understand that there is a person who is half created from you. She`s yours.” All together now: "Awwwwwww!"

Relationship status: Divorced with a daughter.

Sergio Ramos, Spain

The Spanish captain was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal World Cup for the defending champs. The 28-year old has competed for Spain in three World Cups, winning in 2010, and two European Championships, winning in 2008 and 2012. He made his first senior international appearance at the age of 18, and in 2013 became the youngest player to ever reach 100 caps. Professionally, he plays for Real Madrid, with whom he won this season's UEFA Champions League.

Relationship: In a long-term relationship with a Spanish reporter/tv presenter (I use the term "reporter" very liberally here - most reporters don't model in men's magazines). The couple have a son.

Diego “Ruso” Pérez, Uruguay

The 34-year-old defender is known as "The Russian" though he has no Russian lineage. Confusing. Anyway, He is part of the rough and tough Uruguayan midfield and after the 2010 World Cup where he made quite a name for himself, he began playing for Serie A Bologna. In 2014, Uruguay lost their first match to Croatia but went on to defeat England and Italy, leading to both team's exit and Uruguay's surprising advancement to the Round of 16. Unfortunately, Perez hasn't seen any action yet. Perhaps they'll use his maturity in the next round(s)

Relationship status: Married with two children.

Mitch Langerak, Australia

The Aussie goalkeeper plays for  the German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. Stats: 25 years old, 6'3", Australian accent, enjoys "hanging out."

Relationship status: Girlfriend. 

Ehsan Hajsafi, Iran

The 24-year-old Iranian midfielder as selected by Goal.com as the most promising player in Asian football in 2009. Hajsafi has represented Iran at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. IN his professional career, he has 33 goals in 215 games. 

Relationship status: ?????

Sorry Cristiano Ronaldo fans, while I can see that he is classically handsome... I just can’t put a man on this list who tweezes his eyebrows more often than me. 

Can we please stop using the term “Warrior” when referring to football players?

I had the honor of working for the United States Army for seven years. I know true warriors; I watched men and women leave their families for 12-18 months at a time, to go to far off lands to fight and protect. 

And, I have been with families as they buried their warriors.

How many time have we hear coaches, players and analysts talk about football players’ “warrior mentality?” Sure, they're tough guys on the field, but they are also pampered and fawned over off the field. These athletes live in the lap of luxury, while our real warriors – our military – live in small on-base houses with sometimes barely enough money to adequately care for their families. I know soldiers who have deployed three, four, five times, whose families are on WIC because their salaries aren’t enough to sufficiently feed their family. Yet, the football players are the heroes.

Simply, one cannot compare the "warrior mentality" of a football player to a soldier because there is no comparison.

Our soldiers willingly put their lives on the line to protect our ideals and our freedom. Football players put their bodies on the line for a game. Both are mentally and physically grueling; but one does it for honor and duty; the other does it for fun and money.

Basic pay for a soldier averages somewhere around $40,000 a year. Basic pay for an Army private is just under $18,000, while a general (of which there are very few) makes into the low six figures. In the NFL, league minimum for a rookie is $405,000 a year, while the minimum for a player with 10 years’ experience is right around $1 million. That is the minimum – the average salary of an NFL quarterback is $3.4 million, the average for a wide receiver and linebacker is $1.8 million, and kickers and punters average $1.6 million – KICKERS AND PUNTERS!

Now, go up to a soldier, who has been away from his family for five of the last ten years, and seen his buddies killed and maimed, that the millionaire is a warrior. 

I know soldiers’ wives who gave birth to their children alone, and had to go through those first sleepless months by themselves; fathers and mothers who had to leave their babies, and come home to children who don’t even remember them; I have seen the pain on the faces of families whose warriors are never coming home.

I have watched planes full of soldiers take off to Iraq and Afghanistan, knowing that not everyone on that flight will come home. I have watched the families of deployed soldiers struggle to make it through everyday life while the most important person in their lives is living in a dangerous place, where people want them dead. I have also been lucky enough to witness the joy of families reunited, of fathers seeing their baby – who could be nine months old – for the first time.

These men and women are warriors. They put their duty and their country before all else. They put their lives in danger so that we don't have to. They are willing to die to protect our freedom. 

Football players are talented, physically-gifted freaks who are paid incredibly well because they are part of a product that produces billions of dollars in revenue each year. But they are not warriors.

We are Joplin; We are Eagles; We are strong

There are many things I love about sports; but what I love most of all is that sports, which many people deem “unimportant” in the grand scheme of life, have the ability to lift individuals, teams, cities and even countries, out of a proverbial hole. One such team is the Joplin High School Eagles.

On May 22, the town of Joplin, Mo., was brought to its knees by an EF5 tornado. It ripped apart homes, businesses and schools; one-third of the town was obliterated, and 162 lives were lost. How do you return to any sort of semblance of normalcy after such a tragedy? If you are the Joplin High School athletic director, you go to work ensuring that sports will go on for the students; if you are a high school football player, after a summer of rebuilding your life, you lace up your cleats for summer sessions.

By the time summer camps began for the fall season, most of the high school athletes said that everything they had done in the last three months was hurricane-related – either trying to rebuild their own homes, find new homes, or help others who lost their homes. Most people in the town thought there wouldn’t be a football season, but the Joplin High players and coaches wouldn’t let that happen. 

“Just being together is a thing that makes us feel at home… and that’s one thing that gets us through it,” junior linebacker Austin Barnett said to ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.” 

For one player who lost almost everything that day, being with his team has brought him some peace in the face of tragedy. 

Quinton Anderson lost both of his parents in the tornado and was himself seriously injured; he was dug out of the rubble on the evening of May 22, and induced into a coma. He fractured his skull, shattered his orbital bone and spine, and he needed skin grafts on both legs. For most of the team, the first time they saw him was when he walked into the parent-team meeting on Aug. 7. 

“I knew I couldn’t play,” he said, “but it was nice to know I had my family back at home in the football team.”

Despite coming to Joplin just three months before the tornado hit, the head football coach has been a true leader for this team during a season in which everyone would understand if they just laid down and accepted defeat. 

“When you get knocked down in life, it comes down to a simple decision: lay down and feel sorry for yourselves or get up and fight,” head coach Chris Shields said to his team before their first game of the 2011 season. “I have no reservations about what this team will do in the face of adversity. What you’ve done and the things that you’ve gone through – there is nothing that can happen on the football field that we can’t overcome if we stay together.”

Before that first game, junior LB/RB Adam St. Peter told ESPN that the team was aware that many of the people who would be in the crowd were coming to see how the team represented them.

That’s what’s driving me mostly, I feel like that’s what I need to do for all of these people whose lives were dramatically altered – just make them proud to be from Joplin,” St. Peter said.

As a town continues to rebuild, the Joplin High sports teams do the same. They’ve lost athletes, some in the tornado and some in the aftermath who had to leave town, but those who remain continue to do what they did before the tornado ever touched down – they hit the fields wearing their Joplin jerseys. These athletes are forever changed, but on the field, they are able to be normal teenagers.

In the town of Joplin, Mo., football has the power to pick people up and return them to life. 

Note: the quotes from this article are from ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”

This lady is ready for some football!

Football is back and I can hardly contain my excitement! Last night for the first time since the Super Bowl, I sat on my couch and watched an NFL game – not a game from last season on NFL Network or a game on ESPN Classic or even a preseason game, but a real, live game.

I know there are a lot of women out there who are disappointed that the NFL lockout ended. I’m friends with a lot of those women, who hate losing their husbands to the television every Sunday, and the occasional Monday and Thursday, from September through February – but I am certainly not one of them. Unlike most of my female friends, I countdown the days from the Super Bowl until the NFL is back; I look forward to the draft, to the first day of training camp, to preseason games and, of course, opening day. On Sundays, I’m not just the understanding wife letting my husband watch the Vikings game without interruption – I next to him on the coach, screaming and jumping up and down.

I've long ago realized that I can't sit around with my girlfriends and talk about football because after about three minutes their eyes glass over and I've lost them. I tend to be the only female in the room who actively follows football, so I’ve found that usually the people I can talk about football with are men.

Yet every time I’m talking to a man about football for the first time, he is always – always – shocked with my football knowledge. They are always surprised that I, a woman who couldn’t play football herself, know as much about the game as I do. But there are a lot of men who follow football who didn’t play at all, or past Pop Warner, even some of the so-called experts on TV. So what’s the difference? Even though I was never able to play myself, I know a lot about the game: I know the different between a cover-two and a cover-three; I know what a blitz is and when it works best; I actively follow the NFL and am well-informed on current teams, players and stats; I love fantasy football and I know who to draft and why.

Some men appreciate that I know as much as they do about football, but I also know there are some who think I should keep my mouth shut and get back in the kitchen. I've read from some of sports writers, including one of my favorite columnists Bill Simmons, that a woman who knows too much about sports is suddenly less attractive because women are supposed to be feminine and for some reason knowing about football makes her less so. I find that to be offensive, mainly because the two have no correlation what so ever.


Clearly I'm not the woman sitting on the couch during a football game whose only comments are how attractive Tom Brady is ... don't get me wrong, I can appreciate Tom Brady for his chiseled features, but I also appreciate his 77 percent winning percentage, his play-making ability and his on-field leadership. And you know what? I'm proud that I know that and can stand with any guy and hold my own in a conversation about football. If you can't handle that, you can't handle a real woman.

               

Give Vick a chance

I’m from Boston, so I don’t really feel much like talking about the NHL or NBA playoffs right now. Instead, let’s talk about my favorite sport – football.

Even though it’s the offseason, there’s still a lot going on in the NFL. Let’s have a recap: Michael Vick was recently released from prison, and Brett Favre is talking about coming out of retirement, again, this time to stick it to the Packers by possibly playing for the Vikings. Al Davis skipped over Michael Crabtree in favor of Darrius Heyward-Bey out of the University of Maryland, which of course is known as a football powerhouse that consistently breeds top-10 draft picks, in yet another in a long-line of horrible decisions. And we saw tragedy strike when the Cowboys’ training facility collapsed, leaving a scout paralyzed.

Jason Taylor is going back to the Dolphins; Tom Brady is coming back to the Patriots; Matt Cassel is going to try to turn things around in Kansas City; and all of New York/New Jersey is hoping that Mark Sanchez can carry the Jets. T.O. was released by Dallas and subsequently signed with Buffalo, which makes a ton of sense because now he’ll be catching passes from the great Trent Edwards, which shouldn’t cause any problems; and the Redskins guaranteed about a billion dollars to Albert Haynesworth.

Of all of those stories, I have to say the one that interests me the most is that of Michael Vick… just hear me out. Vick was sent to prison for 23 months for financing a dog fighting ring. Now, while I by no means condone what he did, I realize that he was certainly, and perhaps somewhat unfairly, made an example of. Nevertheless, Vick has done his time and now is being released to serve his final two months on house arrest.

I sincerely hope that some NFL team will take a chance on the former superstar, one that can take the heat that PETA and other animal rights activists will throw at them, because apparently serving two years at Leavenworth, losing all of your money, the respect the world had for you isn’t enough – he must suffer forever! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that what he did wasn’t horrible, but I think he served his time, and he deserves a second chance. After all, it’s not like he was involved in a double-murder, plead his way out, paid off the victims’ families, and is now the hero of the Baltimore Ravens. Just trying to put it in perspective.

All of that has happened, and it’s only the beginning of June. Man, I love football.

We need more people like Caleb Campbell

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nfl&id=3371045

After I read that ESPN post a few weeks ago, I decided that I really wanted to put my two cents in, as someone who is close to the Army, and to football. So here goes...

Former United States Military Academy (Army) defensive back Caleb Campbell was selected by the Detroit Lions as selection #218 in the NFL Draft. For Campbell, basically, this means that he heads to Detroit instead of Iraq.

I was lucky enough to interview Caleb twice at the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia in 2005 and 2006, and I remember being very impressed by him - not primarily because his stature, which is very big for a Cadet (6-foot-2, 229-pounds), but by his maturity in the face of adversity and defeat (Army had lost on both occasions to Navy - and by lost, I mean BIG). To see how he reacted in the face of defeat - humbled, but strong. And though he took the loss hard, you could tell he knew it wasn't the end of the world. In other words, the perfect Army officer.

Campbell "embodies what the academy is all about, and that's what everyone in
this country should be trying to be," Millen said. "He's got skills, he's got
desire and he's going to get a great opportunity."

But Caleb is taking a different course that his fellow Cadets, for now at least. It is rare that a (former) cadet or plebe (from the Naval Academy) play in the NFL - it is even more rare for one to be selected in the draft, prven in the fact that Campbell was the first (and only) non-kicker in Military Academy history to be invited to the NFL Combine.

But Campbell going to the NFL isn't so cut and dry. The Army has regulations, and graduates of the Military Academy owe the Army five years of active service after their graduation in return for the free education they received.

So then, many of you may be asking how Campbell can even do this, go right to the NFL, since graduates of the Military Academy owe the military active service in return for their free education. Well, there is a very new Army regulation that offers its top athletes a side door to professional sports - West Point has implemented an alternative service option program that allows cadets to turn pro – and play – right away.

Cadets accepted into the program "will owe two years of active service in the Army, during which time they will be allowed to play their sport in the player-development systems of their respective organizations and be assigned to recruiting stations. If they remain in professional sports following those two years, they will be provided the option of buying out the remaining three years of their active-duty commitment in exchange for six years of reserve time." The Air Force Academy and Naval Academy do not offer such a program. Both academies require two years of active service upon graduation before presenting the option of swapping the final three years of active time for six years in the reserves.

So, if Campbell can get into the program, it's a simple choice, right? WRONG.

It seems like an obvious choice, that he would be thrilled that he doesn't have to go overseas... but for a man who chose to attend the Military Academy in a time of war, it certainly isn't so black-and-white.

Meanwhile, his former teammates and classmates all face the prospect of going to
war in Iraq, where more than 4,000 servicemen and women have been killed in the
war that's been going on for more than five years with no end in sight. Campbell
wouldn't hesitate to join them. "I didn't come to the academy to play football,"
he said. "I came to the academy to become an officer." He initially had
misgivings about passing up on the chance to lead a platoon."

Campbell CHOSE to attend Army, over many other schools, he knew that he would likely be going to war after he graduated. He didn't go to Army just to play football - he went to be a Soldier who played football on the side. Well, God gave Caleb athletic talent, and it is beyond that of almost anyone else who has ever donned a Army football jersey, and that in-and-of itself is a burden on Campbell's shoulders.

There are those who don't think he should get out of his active service, and there are those who don't think his recruiting mission equals that of what the other Cadets will have to do. While I agree that it isn't equal, I think the mission - recruiting - is just as important. In being a public figure, Campbell will help the Army in a very important, though different, way that he would have leading a platoon.

E:60 on ESPN did a package on Campbell before the draft... it's a good story, but I personally don't like the spin they took. it's almost like they're saying that is Campbell isn't drafted, he's heading to his death sentence in Iraq. Yes, he would likely, as a young lieutenant right out of West Point he would be heading overseas to Operation Iraqi Freedom or the Global War On Terror, but that is far from definite.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3361402&categoryId=3060647

With the new Army regulations, Campbell, if he makes the Lions squad, will not be (literally) fighting for his country, but he WILL be actively serving the Army, through recruiting - and what young man thinking about going into the Army wouldn't listen to a professional football player, who also happens to be a Soldier?

It's not the typical Cadet route, but then again, Caleb Campbell isn't the typical Cadet.