The Price of Success

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Football legend, Mike Ditka, once said, “Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.” With many years as a player and National Football League (NFL) head coach under his belt, Mr. Ditka knows a thing or two about what solidifies success with anything in life. Growing up always involved in sports and having the difference between right and wrong embedded in my brain, I can also vie for this statement both on and off the field. My only question is, why don’t professional athletes, specifically football players, feel this way as well? Everyone comes from different upbringings, but based on where they are today, they had to understand right from wrong at some point. So, why would some athletes like, Santonio Holmes, Ben Roethlisberger, and Michael Vick, to name a few, choose to turn their heads away from those morals now? Is it their status and who they are that make them feel as if they are invisible? Or, is it because the NFL and franchises value their money over disciplining them for their actions? In the instances of Roethisberger and Vick, there seems to be a combination of the two.

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Throughout the years, misbehavior and misconduct by professional football players have seemed to become more and more common.  Yet, the discipline for those actions have become less and less. At most, they will pay a fine or receive a few games suspension, but nothing that would force the player to seriously sit back and question themselves. While I was watching the super bowl this weekend, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone accused of sexual assault twice in one year could be playing for the greatest title in football. After failing to learn his lesson the first time, Ben Roethlisberger was accused of assaulting another woman during this past off season. All charges were dropped so it was up to the NFL to punish him, and they did. Roethlisberger was suspended for the first six games of the season, but they didn't stick by it; his suspension was later reduced to four games.  From an organizations standpoint, what does this say about the Steelers? Roethlisberger is a decent player; I will give him that, but is his ability worth the organizations reputation? This has not been the only time Steelers and NFL have swept this kind of misbehavior under the rug to protect a star player. In 2006, former wide receiver Santonio Holmes was arrested with charges of domestic violence, which were dismissed with the NFL’s promise that he would receive counseling.  Then two years later, the super bowl MVP was pulled over and caught with three marijuana-filled cigars. What was his punishment? He was suspended for the New York Giants game the next day and returned to work the following day.    

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The only players forced to face their consequences are the ones that find themselves in jail, but they can only be held behind bars for so long. Once they are released, it is up to the NFL to decide whether they continue to play or not. In the case of Michael Vick, they felt he had served his punishment and allowed him back into the league. Yes, that’s right! Despite torturing and killing numerous dogs in the game of dog fighting, Vick was slapped on the wrist and offered a two-year $6.8 million contract by the Philadelphia Eagles. Not bad for someone let out of prison three months earlier. When I first heard the news I instantly thought of Donovan McNabb. How was this fair to a player who has easily maintained a clean record? He may have foiled the 2005 Super Bowl with nerves, but he had worked hard to get to that point in his career. Nevertheless, Vick’s reputation on the field granted him a second chance and soon took over McNabb’s spot. For Vick, this was a blessing but for the Eagles’, this was out of character. The image and atmosphere surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles is not one that would add dog killers to their roster. Vick is another gifted player but when will the NFL realize they are not running a high school football league? These players are grown men with big paychecks who are old enough to know what is right and what is wrong. The truth is that if this had been an average person with an average job in the same situation, there would have been no second chances. It would also would have taken them much longer than three months to find a job for not even a tenth of what Vick was paid.

The franchises and NFL will do anything for their own success and money even if it means signing a dog killer and protecting their star players from the law. Being fully aware of this fact, the players have no worry or shame in misbehaving from time to time. Not only do they have the money to buy their way out of it but they know people will be fighting for them. Basically, it all comes down to Mr. Ditka’s statement and the value of success for both the players and teams. If the Steelers had won the Super Bowl this year, could Roethlisberger honestly consider that success? On the other side of the coin, how much longer can the NFL protect these men until something extremely serious happens?