NFL's Drinking Problem

Thing's just keep getting worse for the young stars of the NFL. After last week's tragedy involving Jevon Belcher, another life has been taken in the NFL. This time it was Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jerry Brown. Early Saturday morning, he and fellow Cowboys teammate Josh Brent, were out drinking and Brent decided to drive home drunk. He hit a curb while speeding and flipped the car over. Brown was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly there after. The irony of this story is that the accident took place a little over a mile away from the national headquarters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). One of the NFL's biggest partners in the fight against DUIs. This begs the question, is the NFL doing their part to protect the players?

Since January 2000, there have been 624 arrests of NFL players. 177 of which were arrested under suspicion of drunk driving. That's over a DOZEN players every year that get arrested for drunk driving. Eighteen players have been arrested just this year for drunk driving. The NFL has put into place programs to prevent this from happening. From education, to discipline, even as far as having a chauffeur service available to all players that need a ride home. Clearly this isn't enough.

Personally, I'm 26, and I like to drink. A lot. Have I ever driven when I shouldn't have? Yes. Almost everyone has, even those who don't want to admit it. I like to go out and have a good time. At some point in the night you'd think we, as human beings, would say, "hmm, should I stop drinking so I can make it home safe?". Sometimes we do, but there are plenty of times we don't. I get that, I've been there. When you're out having a good time, you don't want to stop drinking. Especially the more you drink. I'm not a millionaire athlete who can just call up a chauffeur service to drive me home. Which makes NFL players look like fools. If I made even half of what they make, I'd be hiring a driver every night I went out, even if it was $100/hr. Just knowing I don't have to worry about endangering my own life, and more importantly, the lives of innocent bystanders

The NFL and NFLPA need to make a stand. They need to enforce harsher penalties for players who get into trouble. There's no excuse for it. Go out and have a great time. Party all night, nobody is taking that away from you. Just don't get arrested. Plain and simple. There are plenty of people in this world who would do anything to be a professional athlete. Don't take it for granted. Just take a little advice.