Why I Am Boycotting The NFL

So Collin Kaepernick is causing people to boycott the NFL, but I left for an entirely different set of reasons. Here is why.

First, I've been a long-time fan of the NFL. First I grew up liking Dallas because my uncle lived in Texas. Then my hometown got a team when the NFL expanded to Charlotte, North Carolina. I was an instant Panthers fan until I met my wife who was a Dallas fan and so I became a Dallas and Panthers fan. lol.

I played Fantasy Football and spent hours learning what I could about each player and won two different times and took second a couple of times. I won a decent amount of money. To be honest, playing Fantasy Football eventually was harder to give up that watching the games... but I did.

First it was the concussions that opened my eyes to the long-term effects of playing in the NFL and the leagues attempts to deny it at first instead of taking care of the players that built the league. That bothered me. 

Then it was the over sold games. A game would take almost 3 hours to watch. They were making money hand over fist with the TV revenue and ads that it just became too commercialized... that bothered me, but I kept watching.

Then Adrian Peterson beat his son. Ray Rice knocked out his soon to be wife on an elevator.  These guys got suspensions and Adrian was back on the field shortly after. So many NFL players get arrested for things like assault, drugs, guns, abuse and so much more. 

See the NFL Arrest Database... HERE.

So many players doing so many bad things and then bending rules and paying off people to be back on the field the next Sunday. It is fostering a bad environment. It is a bad example for my kids.

I also feel that professional sports is one of the worst things for the inner city youth. A large number of them plan on being the next big sports star and don't plan for anything else. Then when those dreams don't work out, they fall to life of crime or low paying jobs because they never learned any other skills. They were just good at football. Not that good, but good.

Professional sports are a distraction. They encourage the wrong goals in life. I love sports and encourge my kids to play, but and my son is good at basketball. I mean he is really good. He dropped 37 points and 11 three pointers in the playoffs. He is 8. He wants to be in the NBA and I support him, but I also tell him if he wants me to help him be the best on the court, be better be the best in the class. 

So with all this Collin Kaepernic stuff, I don't care. I don't pay attention to the NFL anymore. I don't watch it, don't have cable, don't read about it, don't listen to shows and I don't play Fantasy Football anymore. Some days I miss it, then I remember they are also a non-profit organization that abuses the tax system. Then I don't miss it much anymore. 

I know by me watching it doesn't make a dent in anyone's ratings or NFL dollars, but it makes me feel better and that is really all that counts. I just need to get my own cheerleaders.

(all gifs from giphy.com)

Let me know your thoughts on the NFL in the comments below.

To my followers, you are the fans that keep me going on the field.