More N.F.L. Players Turn to Guns for a Sense of Security

NY Times ^ | December 26, 2003 | MIKE FREEMAN

[Prodigal Son]

For an interesting experiment, go back and re-read the article. Every time you come to the word 'gun' replace it with 'drug' (drugs). Seriously, several places in the article make such references as 'gun use'. If you replace all the gun(s) with drug(s) it gives you a truer perspective on how it was written.

[Gritty]

The N.F.L. became the first sports league to create a formal gun policy in 1996, in an attempt to curtail gun ownership by players. The policy also discourages keeping registered guns at home.

I can see why the NFL cares about steroids, but why should they care who owns a gun?

several players said... some athletes have volatile tempers and a disagreement on the field could turn into a gun incident

Yeah. And before you know it, we'll be seeing Wild West Shootouts in the end zone after every touchdown. Things like that are inevitable when everybody is packing, including the Packers!

[Deguello]

"Shootouts in the end zone after every touchdown"

The Last Boy Scout...

[Freebird Forever]

the only player that comes to mind as having been accused of murder

There was that drive-by incident involving the pregnant girlfriend of Rae Carruth. But it was one of his crew who pulled the trigger.

[Ancesthntr]

It is good to see that most of these guys have at least some mental capacity - most of them probably have enough experience with the police over the years (directly or through friends/family members) to know that the police can't protect you, and that it is your responsibility to do so. The only ones at the NY Slimes that seem to know this are the editors, though they hypocritically want to deny everyone else the right to self-defense.

[kiriath_jearim]

"I guess this explains the thousands of locker room shootings over the years amid a rising tide of gun violence"

* * * * *

Well, if somebody slapped my a$$ with a towel, I would slap theirs with a Taurus. lol

[Shooter 2.5]

The Kansas City Chiefs are anti-gun because they contributed money to defeat the Concealed Carry of Weapons Proposition.

[lepton]

Among the potential dangers of having guns stored in lockers or in cars parked next to a stadium or practice field, several players said, is that some athletes have volatile tempers and a disagreement on the field could turn into a gun incident.

Considering how many are otherwise out of control, and how few incidents there are, this seems a good argument that the NFLs concerns are unwarranted.

Add in that they automatically discount a players statements of feeling threatened, and one can see why they wouldn't see that there have been situations where a person who is a player might need a firearm.

[Khepera]

Colerful falls? Who needs that? I'll take the chicks if they follow my directions. First direction? Get the hell out of NY!

[cruiserman]

That is in part because some possess illegal guns, purchased without a permit on the black market.

That's an extremely broad statement. There is no permit required to purchase a firearm in many states. No such thing as an illegal gun.

[Mulder]

Good. The Constitution even applies to football players.

[.45MAN]

That sounds about right!!

[Fledermaus]

Security my a$$. More and more of the young NFL, NBA, NBL, etc. are barely once removed from gangs.

[scholar]

The primary reason for the rise in gun ownership, many people said, is an increased concern among players that they are targets for everyone from aggressive fans to criminals and even terrorists.

AW--POOR BABIES! I totally support the Second Amendment, but what makes these overpaid, egotistical boobs more above the law than the average citizen, who in many cities/states would be criminally charged for possessing a gun to defend themself?

[Leroy S. Mort]

McNair had a gun permit, but in Tennessee it is against the law for an intoxicated person to have a loaded weapon.

If this ever gets to be widely enforced, look for the population of Knoxville on Saturdays in the Fall to drop dramatically.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Note the prominent display of black players. This is all about racism.

Also Lomas Brown said: "Athletes are very emotional, and just like everyone else, sometimes our emotions get the best of us, and they are difficult to control. If you throw a gun into that mix, and then maybe alcohol, well, that's not good."

Racism.

[AngryJawa]

Cute, spunky chicks...

...with accents that double as birth control devices. 8^)

Yeah, I can say dat 'cuz I used to tawk like dat too. Fuggetaboutit.

[ScottL.]

I was tempted to say the shade of Howell Raines lives still at the paper, but this is just the standard-issue viewers-with-alarm *Times*folk, Guns & Society bureau, on the scene of developments that in themselves are neither all that newsworthy, nor alarming - I could just as easily put a positive spin on the overall canvas as there painted.

And all those fast cars that fast car drivers like to drive fast when they're in their (fast) cars! (shades of Dave Barry and/or Al Franken) You talk about "disasters waiting to happen"! And the alcohol! And *sex*-related death risks! And swimming pools and speedboats! And let's not neglect honoring our sisters among the "take back the night" feminist sorority, whose meritorious public service in campus "consciousness raising" includes the helpful reminder that "all men are potential rapists". If we could somehow make it politically feasible to ban cars, alcohol, testicles and guns (" 'andguns ", as a Bob Hoskins movie rogue might call his pistols), we could resurrect Bob and Bing and Dorothy in celebrating our real-life *Road to Utopia*. As long as criminals and the stupid among us were moved beyond precedent by our good-faith efforts at living "safely" and in "peace" with our neighbors thus, we'd be all set: five thousand years of history, literature, biology and psychology be danged ("I have to go now, Duane, because I'm due back on planet Earth" - Woody Allen, *Annie Hall*).

It's fun to pretend, which is why we will never lack for actors and actresses, in or out of politics left or right. God, the risks of living among free men and women can be just so intolerable. Football players with guns! You know *their* kind...volatile...childlike emotionally...probably fornicate like rabbits...there goes the neighborhood.

Hmmm...speaking of "unstable" subgroups...Coming soon: "More and more celebrities (and/or their bodyguards) carrying and/or applying for weapons permits (Special to The Times)". Oh - we know that already: so watch the front page.