04/19/24
May 20, 2007
Hidden: Deja vu all over again for the Bengals: when A.J. Nicholson is arrested for allegedly hitting his girlfriend in the eye.
posted by olelefthander to football at 06:14 PM - 13 comments
By all means, I do not mean to stereotype, but I think if you look at the places in which many NFL and NBA players grow up, there is a more apparent history of social deviance than players in the NHL and the Major Leagues. For a lot of players, the NFL and the NBA are the only ways for them to "make it". I'm not trying to condone what's going on in the NFL and the NBA because it is becoming an all to prevelant newspaper headline when someone gets in trouble. But I don't think that it is any rules or regulations that makes the NHL and MLB less "troublesome", it's the makeup of the athletes who play these sports (and I'm not racial stereotyping here because just as many white athletes in these sports get in trouble too.)
posted by YaddaYadda2010 at 08:38 PM on May 20, 2007
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2876896 Yet another example..
posted by YaddaYadda2010 at 09:02 PM on May 20, 2007
Thank god he wasn't addicted to painkillers like some of the other "troublesome" NFL players from bad backgrounds. Noone who was busily defending Mike Vick in a previous thread need wag a finger. People of all walks of life get in these situations, and in the NFL it's less than the general population. Any social theorizing is just you complaining about the splinter in one man's eye while ignoring the log in your own. Dude turned himself in on a 4th degree misdemeanor... The words "Rape Stands" were never mentioned. It's not like he molested his babysitter. Can we all just overreact because the word "Bengals" is in the headlines already? The guy was scrub who saw two games on Special Teams, arrested for a minor offense. Whomever mentions modern athletes and their "sense of entitlement" gets a free item from the Blowfish catalog on me.
posted by LostInDaJungle at 10:01 PM on May 20, 2007
I do think that NFL players get into trouble more than NBA players, probably for 2 reasons - first, that NFL players are likely to be more aggressive than nba players because of their sport, and second, because I think the much smaller size of nba teams allows those teams to focus more on the individuals on the team and any problems they run into. And Yadda wrote: just as many white athletes in these sports get in trouble too This clearly cannot be literally true since white players make sup a significantly smaller percentage of players, but the more important question is whether white players are just as likely to get into trouble as black players. I don't know the answer, but I am curious about it. Note that even if black players get in trouble more frequently, that doesn't mean they cause trouble more frequently.
posted by spira at 10:04 PM on May 20, 2007
I'm black and a retired professional athlete, there is no race issue here. The problem is these guys already had these personality traits, but money takes it to another level. I've seen with my own eyes how that check just gives a boost to the fire. What I don't understand is, if athletes are considered role models, why do we let hockey players fight, and cheer about it? But thats ok? Maybe thats why they don't get in to much trouble outside the rink.
posted by AFLvet at 10:35 PM on May 20, 2007
I'm not convinced that NHL or MLB players (other than Lastings Milledge) get in trouble less than those in the NFL or NBA. Or where a player grew up determines how they tick as an adult. Sometimes a prick is just a prick. It boils down to coverage. Scandal stories -- in light of Roger Goodell's new conduct policy -- are all the rage. If Nicholson was just an average joe, the only way this misdemeanor makes the wires is if the woman he's charged with assaulting was, say, a midget clown porn star, or something really odd.
posted by forrestv at 11:05 PM on May 20, 2007
wow, after reading the actual story, I am intrigued by some of the posts. The NFL and the NBA have no compunction about drafting "troubled " youth who have a history of lawlessness Nicholson was arrested for stealing an ex-roommate's stereo a month after he was drafted, so to throw out a lack of compunction may be a stretch. but I think if you look at the places in which many NFL and NBA players grow up, there is a more apparent history of social deviance than players in the NHL and the Major Leagues. For a lot of players, the NFL and the NBA are the only ways for them to "make it". What are you trying to say? That Winston-Salem NC is a bad place? That the NFL was his only way to make it? That's racist bunk. He went to a good high school (Mt. Tabor) and beyond all the normal jobs out there, since this is North Carolina, there was always NASCAR. If Nicholson was just an average joe, the only way this misdemeanor makes the wires is if the woman he's charged with assaulting was, say, a midget clown porn star I'm looking for midget clown porn pictures/videos...any good leads? Nothing under 18 years please...I have my morals.
posted by dviking at 11:32 PM on May 20, 2007
dviking, you don't want those leads. Trust me.
posted by forrestv at 11:42 PM on May 20, 2007
So, what is it about Cincy that just drives dudes batshit?
posted by igottheblues at 12:32 AM on May 21, 2007
I wasn't commenting on this specific incident as I was just trying to comment on the original post about how it seems more athletes seem to be getting in trouble when it comes to the NFL and the NBA. I was not saying that football was his only way to make it. I also was not saying that every football player came from a bad place (even though just about every city has its bad places). I wasn't making a racist comment either, as I clearly stated I was not stereotyping. All I was trying to say is exactly what AFLvet wrote in his post when he said: "The problem is these guys already had these personality traits..." And when it comes to people getting in trouble in MLB and the NHL -- Major Leaguers are dropping like flies from steroid abuse. While it's not the same off the field legal trouble that we are talking about with the NHL and NBA, it would be splitting hairs to say that this did not constitute the same thing. Also, when players in the NHL get in trouble, they seem to get in trouble on the ice (assault charges from violent fights and acts). Also, hockey players getting in trouble will not be heard about as much in the public as it is a sport that gets a lot less attention nationally than the NFL. Going back to the question Spira posed: I think any human being whether they're white, black, yellow, purple, or of the midget-clown variety can get themselves in trouble. But I think AFLvet said it best that these players who keep getting in trouble have had this same mindset forever and it is just something that gets fueled by the hype and noteriety that comes with being a professional athelete.
posted by YaddaYadda2010 at 12:36 AM on May 21, 2007
When you ask people like this what there favorite movie is they usually respond "Scarface" which is a good movie,just some people know how to seperate that crap from the movies to real life.Drugs,the fast life is all in the way they see life.He went to a good high school (Mt. Tabor) and beyond all the normal jobs out there, since this is North Carolina, there was always NASCAR. NO That's Racist BUNK........
posted by nafsfeihc1#oN at 09:03 AM on May 21, 2007
as this link was removed no one may ever see this, but for the record: I wasn't making a racist comment either, as I clearly stated I was not stereotyping. Stating that you're not stereotyping before you make a comment does magically change the fact that you were stereotyping. You said many football players grow up in a setting with high levels of social deviance. Given the athlete in question was black, we can assume you meant where he grew up. Anyway, I hope it wasn't the midget clown line that got this thread removed. Clearly a joke, and clearly not as offensive as items that stay (check out the thread on why cyclists shave their legs)
posted by dviking at 09:21 AM on May 21, 2007
The NFL and the NBA have no compunction about drafting "troubled " youth who have a history of lawlessness. The only thing that matters is that they can play.Just look at the slate of players in trouble with the law.For some reason this doesn't occur nearly as often in the NHL or the Major Leagues.