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I’ll try to spread the knowledge I’ve received from the NFL protests.

I finally get it. NFL players have taught me to recognize personal biases and prejudices. I’m sure I will be a better person by giving a chance to those I’ve ignored in the past, who are quite often black or female.

When the players’ union tried to bring up conconcusions, I sided with the league. I loved the game, and without thinking, assumed the players just wanted more money.

When Roethlisberger was accussed of rape, I ignored his victim. I admired Ben’s play and liked his team and wouldn’t even consider that he may be a rapist. Never again will I let my bias for the NFL or a player cause me to ignore a victim.

When teams repeatedly welcomed back men who raped, assaulted, and abused women, killed dogs, and committed other crimes, I accepted that those players had “served their time” or “resoloved their issue”, or whatever other excuse the teams and league made. The league enabled additional crimes by their continued association, acceptance, and funding of criminals. And I enabled the league by not turning them off. If enough of us white males turn off the games when a team associates with criminals, we may be able to save a future assault victim (who is more often than not a black woman).

Unfortunately I’ve also developed a major character flaw in watching the players. I’ve seen players condemn all police as brutal racists based on the actions of a few bad cops who actually are racists. I’ve watched the players label whites as the cause of social problems - problems which indivdual white people did not cause and have no control over. From now on, if I happen to see a play on Sundays, instead of 22 talented inviduals doing their job, I’ll see 22 men who rape and abuse women, kill animals, and drive drunk. The label “National Felons Leauge” is quite appropriate to me now. Maybe there are a few who aren’t felons - maybe even most of them are not guilty. But their inactions in stopping felonies, and continued assciation with those who are criminals make them all guitly. Maybe this is just a subconscious coping mechanism I’ve developed to help me turn off the game. But I’ll go with the excuse that teams have really wanted to present an image of “team unity” and now I’m seeing it, so it’s not a personal flaw I need to fix.