Posted on 03/15/2011 4:26:48 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
Just when you thought the rancor between the NFL and players had peaked, along comes Adrian Peterson.
In a wide-ranging interview with Yahoo! Sports, the star Minnesota Vikings running back compared the league's labor situation to slavery.
"It's modern-day slavery, you know?" Peterson said. "People kind of laugh at that, but there are people working at regular jobs who get treated the same way, too. With all the money ... the owners are trying to get a different percentage, and bring in more money."
Peterson's remarks were later removed from the Yahoo! Sports post. The interviewer, Doug Farrar, said he believed that Peterson did not literally mean to compare the NFL's contentious labor dispute with the institution of slavery.
"I want to give him the opportunity to provide context as opposed to just running with it," Farrar tweeted.
At least one NFL player took issue with Peterson's analogy. Ryan Grant of the Packers tweeted that he "totally" disagreed with the comments, adding that there is "actually still slavery existing in our world.. Literal modern day slavery.. That was a very misinformed statement."
"But I understand what point he was trying to make," Grant tweeted. "I just feel like he should have been advised a little differently."
It's worth noting Peterson was interviewed just 15 minutes after the union filed papers to decertify so emotions were running high - and words were coming out unfiltered. In fact, when discussing the hot-button topic, the player seemed to realize he should push the self-edit button mid-sentence:
"All some people see is, 'Oh, we're not going to be around football.' But how the players look at it ... the players are getting robbed. They are. The owners are making so much money off of us to begin with. I don't know that I want to quote myself on that..."
I think what happened was since 1987, the overall public perception of NFL players in the eyes of the public changed. Back in the 1980s, most players were perceived as respectable people who really enjoyed playing the game. Now we see self-absorbed, arrogant thugs with rap sheets a mile long who engage in disgusting, deplorable off-field antics (of course the NFL is no better, as it rewards and enables this behavior). I doubt few people would miss this crop of players if they were replaced.
“Now you know why Brett Farve couldnt win it all with these guys.”
Actually, we wouldn’t have won SB-XLV WITH Brent Favre.
Minnesoda?
Pretenders to the MAX.
BTW, nice “dome” they got over there, eh?
that’s exactly what people I talk to at Musicians Inst. tell me. They’re close to our production studio in L.A. and the students tell me the same thing as well. They pretty much get close to nothing and going on the road, doing live shows is the only way to recoup the costs and make money.
Hey, I wanna be a slave, and I will do it for a mere 1.5 million a year
“Modern day slavery”. It is fitting then that some would say the nfl is socialism at its best.
‘Give him a break. He went to school at OK’
I’ll take Thurman Thomas of OSU, a great conservative.
Though AP is a moron for saying what did I’m leaning toward the players on this one
The owners are screwing just about the best marketed most loved sport in the country
None are going broke let’s how much they lose if next season gets FUBAR
Yeah, I can see the resemblance... /sarc
3-4 good college games shifted to Sunday and Monday and we won't even miss the pros. This would get the owners' and players' attention real quick.
At the risk of being called a bigot, this is what passes for intelligence among low-class, inner-city, ignorant, feral black males who have little more than an eighth-grade education and whose only talent in life is the ability to run with a football.
Me one Jiggy Kaffir! Fo sho' I works hards for your money. I'm ready to eat that milk & honey now, Yassir honey and milk all day long. Where can I go to sign up for the fooseball Sir!
Adrian Peterson, you are fired from my fantasy team. Begone, don't let the sun set on your ass in my Lockeroom.
Perspective is greatly missing in Adrian’s life (as well as a good set of hands).
NFL (Not For Long), We paid for the stadiums through taxes, we pay your salaries through the products advertised and bought, you are truly overpaid snot nosed whiny little punk kids, Owners and Players both. Be glad to see you go.
You’re free to board the underground railroad whenever you like, AP.
like Grant said, there STILL exists modern day slavery, its mostly in Africa, and its mostly done by Africans...
like Grant said, there STILL exists modern day slavery, its mostly in Africa, and its mostly done by Africans...
There is no 'point', the NFL players are very well paid and are owed nothing by the owners.
At least the one on the right has a porch.
I love Dayotn. Unfortunately, the loss of Mead, NCR, and the GM plant has killed hundreds of thousands of jobs. It’s a shame and the baseball stadium is nice, but it ain’t gonna turn the city around.
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