A critical look at football

Disgraced New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Lucy Nicholson / Reuters.

By Ibrahim Abdul-Matin

Every day as I scan the sports headlines, I am frequently disgusted by football news. It’s so often stories about violence against women, child abuse, even murder. It makes me sick and it is personal – remember, I played football for twelve years. I am starting to think more and more that it’s time to boycott football altogether. It’s time to pressure the institution to make some much needed cultural changes.

When college programs recruit high school football players, they start by visiting parents and making a promise, “I am here to give your child an opportunity.”   They fail to mention that their young athlete will soon be surrounded by misogyny, violence, alcohol abuse, and people that do not have their best interests in mind.

In recent football news, the Kansas City Chiefs released cornerback Justin Cox on Tuesday after his arrest on charges of burglary of a residence, aggravated domestic assault and trespassing. Another Kansas City starter, A.J. Johnson from the University of Tennessee, was charged with rape. Then there’s San Jose State’s Kanya Bell Jr., a wide receiver, who has been dismissed from the team after his on-campus arrest for domestic battery. Finally, New Orleans Saint Darren Sharper is back in the news. His sentencing for drugging and assaulting women in four states has been rescheduled.

Literally every young athlete who enters the world of college and pro-football is at risk for becoming a headline like those above. I think back to when my parents allowed me to play – it was out of necessity. Without the scholarship, I could not have attended college. This is case for many young ballers. It is unacceptable that young people seeking an education and needing to use football as a route must also be inculcated into a culture that’s more detrimental than helpful in the long run.

There is a context to the violent nature of football as a sport. Baseball and golf come out of agrarian societies. There are no clocks and the games are played outside in large open fields. Basketball comes from the urban context exemplified by its sense of urgency. Football is uniquely “American” because of its relationship to factory and mill towns. Small cities in Pennsylvania and the Midwest pumped out football players that often played games after leaving their line jobs where it was common to see people severely hurt in factory accidents. But this violent history does not need to translate into modern day off-the-field violence. Football can be a healthy container for anger and aggression. It can be a non-criminal, non-oppressive outlet.

As football season nears, let’s begin to think critically about our relationship with this sport. We may enjoy the competition, the tailgating, the excitement, but are we considering what our unquestioned support is doing to the athletes? Are we asking the NCAA and the NFL about support services that athletes might need? Are college athletes being treated as whole humans or as money makers? Are pro-athletes recognized for bad behavior? Are they appropriately punished? Rehabilitated? As someone who believes in conscious consumerism, I believe we need to extend our conscience to the world of sports.

Editor’s Note: Ibrahim Abdul-Matin has worked in the civic, public, and private sectors and on several issues including sustainability, technology, community engagement, sports, and new media. He is the author of Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet and contributor to All-American: 45 American Men On Being Muslim. From 2009 to 2011 Ibrahim was the regular Sports Contributor for WNYC’s nationally syndicated show The Takeaway. Follow him on twitter @IbrahimSalih. The views expressed here are his own.