NFL Image

[improbus]

Can someone explain to me the double standard at play between the NFL and the NBA? Why is it the the NBA is seen as a league of thugs and the NFL is not? It seems like a daily occurrence for NFL guys to be getting arrested, suspended, or have some questionable stories told about them. Now I understand that there are more players in the NFL and so the overall number of problems will be higher, but we could probably put together a massive list of NFL players who have gotten into trouble recently. And yet, somehow, the players take the rap and the league doesn't. It is a "Pac-Man" problem, or a Bengals problem, but not an NFL problem.

Check out this list for starters...
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/nfl/arrests.html

[camisadelgolf]

That's a great resource. Thank you for posting that. One thing that is probably worth noting is that an NFL team will have four or five times as many players as an NBA team.

[improbus]

I'm not saying that the NBA doesn't have its fair share of criminals (so does MLB and the NFL), however, when an NBA player gets in trouble it is a league problem whereas it is not in the NFL. No one blames the NFL or uses that as an "excuse" for not watching the league like they did for the NBA.

[camisadelgolf]

I'm not saying that the NBA doesn't have its fair share of criminals (so does MLB and the NFL), however, when an NBA player gets in trouble it is a league problem whereas it is not in the NFL. No one blames the NFL or uses that as an "excuse" for not watching the league like they did for the NBA.

Would you happen to have a statistic that shows what percentage of players in their respective leagues become arrested?

If 100 players in the NFL are arrested and 50 players in the NBA are arrested, it would theoretically mean that the NBA has a bigger problem.

[Danny Serafini]

It's pretty simple really. The NFL is more popular than the NBA, so the public at large is more forgiving of NFL players' mistakes. If Odell Thurman played basketball there would be a huge cry about NBA players being out of control and a two hour SportsCenter special about it. Since he's in the NFL people just laugh it off.

[improbus]

It's pretty simple really. The NFL is more popular than the NBA, so the public at large is more forgiving of NFL players' mistakes. If Odell Thurman played basketball there would be a huge cry about NBA players being out of control and a two hour SportsCenter special about it. Since he's in the NFL people just laugh it off.

Well...ESPN did have a "town meeting" about Mike Vick (that was a disaster). But they still didn't blame the NFL, they blamed Mike Vick.

In the end, I think it because the NFL has Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, and Brett Favre and the NBA doesn't. The NFL has white American superstars that "Middle America" can identify with. The NBA doesn't, their white stars are Steve Nash (a Canadian soccer nut) and Dirk (a 7'0'' German). If the NFL's image was dominated only by Donovan McNabb, Ray Lewis, LaDainian T., and Shawne Merriman, the leagues image would be VERY different (and that's not saying anything about their character). When was the NBA at its most popular? When it had Larry Bird. Who was every middle to lower class white kids favorite player from 1981-1988? Bird. Look at what happened with Adam Morrison. It was blatantly obvious to most basketball fans that he wasn't that good. He was slow, not a great shooter, and played no defense, and yet the Bobcats took him second overall. He was the Great White Hope. Unfortunately, the NBA will always have to struggle with this image.

[guttle11]

Football isn't viewed as a "hip hop" sport the way basketball is.

[improbus]

Football isn't viewed as a "hip hop" sport the way basketball is.

And why not? Hasn't anyone heard Deion's rap album?

Look, I understand why the NFL is king:

-It's played on Sunday in the fall and winter when it is too cold to go outside and you have nothing else to do.
-You can watch or follow almost every game
-There are not that many games to follow, and you only really need to pay attention once per week.
-The sport is made for TV
-The shortness of the season puts added meaning to many games that simply doesn't exist in the other sports. Does anyone care about a Yanks-Royals game in May? Or a Heat-Cave game in September?
-The Salary Cap structure makes it relatively easy to go from worst to first
-Fantasy Football (which in my opinion is a waste of time, play baseball or basketball instead, but that is another argument for another day)
-It is very easy to follow (unlike Hockey or Soccer)
-You know many of the players from your favorite college team (my wife only cares about the NFL when her favorite OSU players are on the field)

Imagine how different baseball would be if they only played 16 games. The same goes for basketball.

[guttle11]

And why not?

It's a more diverse league. It effects people's opinions, even if it's on a subconscious level.

[wolfboy]

That's a great resource. Thank you for posting that. One thing that is probably worth noting is that an NFL team will have four or five times as many players as an NBA team.

By my quick count, you have to go back to Aug. of 2004 to find a month that was arrest free for the NFL. That's pretty astounding. Then again, as you noted, the NFL is comprised of over 1,600 players (and the bottom end of rosters change quite often).

[improbus]

It's a more diverse league. It effects people's opinions, even if it's on a subconscious level.

Is the NFL more diverse? There are 76 players from 31 countries in the NBA. What you mean, is that the NBA is not white enough.

What is amazing is that the Celtics was the first team I can remember to win the title to only get contributions from American Born - black players, and a black coach. Also, they are almost all model citizens. Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Brown, Posey, Cassell...although I did hear some juicy Rondo stories from my days at UK... Still, all told, an amazing group of unselfish guys.