Usually, I try to avoid stereotypes (99.3% of the time). But this is one I have to sadly agree with. Men do not cry! See, when men are emotional, mistakes are made. When mistakes are made, people get hurt. And when people get hurt, everybody loses. By the transitive property of equality (IF a=b AND b=c, THEN a = c),
When men are emotional, everybody loses.
I want to say now, and probably not for the last time, that I am no fan of Robert Griffin the IIIrd. Why do you ask? Oh, let me tell you:
1. I think anyone named the third is pretentious by default (I blame the parents).
2. I have to watch his UNATTRACTIVE face on Subway commercials every 7 minutes (BTW: Jared and friends were a little premature for signing him a deal. But don’t worry, there is Viagra for that sort of thing).
3. He played his first playoff game with so much impatience, it looked like he was never going to perform wearing a jersey ever again. I can only assume he thought it would be most appropriate to gamble his career on that single game.
Yes, we have seen him hobble up the field with a knee injury at the Battle of the Beltway game in Week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens. And I am sure he played slightly brain damaged with a mild concussion during the Week 5 game against the Atlanta Falcons. But like every player and every sport, pain will not stop a true athlete. Some hierarchical authority has to make that decision. Find examples below:
- In 2008, Tiger Woods competed in the US Open with a torn ACL and two stress fractures in his tibia. Normally, these are career-ending injuries, but he won in sudden-death after sinking a 12-foot birdie.
- At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Kerri Strug suffered a third-degree lateral sprain on her ankle on her first vault. Despite this injury, she completed her second vault and stuck a perfect 10. She performed her bow on one foot as her coach carried her off the mat.
- In the 1972 Heavyweight bout between Ali and Norton, Muhammad Ali suffered a broken jaw. Yet, he refused to quit fighting. After 12 rounds, Ali lost in a split-decision.
With this being said, athletes will ALWAYS refuse to quit, no matter what pregnancy-contraction, testicle-kicking pains they feel. So it’s the job of the coach, the ref, or another authority to decide their faith.
Although RG3’s negligence may have resulted in an forgettable NFL career with, not a stupid choice, but an emotional decision, it's not 100% his fault. This Coach Shanahan thought without logic and with passion. He wanted to win! He believed in the players, he felt inspired, blah blah blah. He became a female and ignored LOGIC (yeah, I said it and I'm not taking it back). He was blind to anything that would prevent a Super Bowl 47 victory. He ignored his perfectly willing and able back-up QB and gambled his chances on an injured player. He made a mistake and now RG3’s leg is injured AND Kirk Cousins feelings are injured. And once again, the Washington Redskins fans lose. The NFL, who won’t sell RG3 jerseys until he is eligible to play, loses. The FedEx field, who already had a crappy reputation for tearing the ACLs of Adrian Peterson, Chris Clemons, and so many others, loses. So, as mentioned above, men with emotions leads to everyone losing!
Who is at fault? Is it right to blame the players? Should we blame the coach? Or what about the sponsors? Well the hippie in me says no to all of the above. We should blame The Man, or big business, obviously.
The league has turned the game into a machine that transforms decent men and turn them into slaves for sport. These athletes go through tremendous abuse and get paid a set salary, averaging out to $2 million for 3 years. God forbid they get injured! But if they do, they must fund their own surgeries, their own rehabilitation, and whatever else the NFL refuses to pay for. So rather than pay a couple hundred thousand to fix a field, the NFL rather risk their player’s livelihoods. On top of that, FedEx, sponsor to one of the worst stadiums in the league, do not dare give their two cents and risk the free advertisement, irregardless of the broken knees.
So, pretty much, the players are the only ones who care and the league has monopolized football to the point where the players:
Risk injury in unfavorable working conditions
OR
Get another job
. . so everyone loses. YAY!
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