First, today’s post is not brought to you by CornerstoneDad, this is his son (aka the Large Professor).

What do you think? After a teammate takes his life, should the team play a game the next day? After you have a teammate that might be gone for the
rest of the season and one you will never see again, should the team play the next day?

Saturday morning, December 1st, 2012. Jovan Belcher, one of the starting linebackers for the Kansas City Chiefs, is said to have murdered the mother of his three-month-old child. Belcher then drove to the Chiefs facility, which is where it is said that he took his own life in front of his head coach, defensive coordinator, and general manager.

Now, think about what happened the next Saturday, December 8th, 2012. Early in the morning, nose tackle Josh Brent was driving with linebacker Jerry Brown as passenger, both from the Dallas Cowboys. It is said that they were traveling at a high rate of speed, hit a curb, causing the car to flip at least once. Brown did not survive the crash. Brent was arrested and was charged with Intoxication Manslaughter. This was the second time in three years Josh Brent has been arrested for an offense involving drunk driving.

But after both of those tragedies, the NFL decided to have the teams play as scheduled on Sunday. Some are wondering, why? I agree with the position of Jason Whitlock from Fox Sports:

You may argue that we all grieve differently. You may argue that
playing the game is the best way to move on and heal. You may argue
that canceling or delaying the game would serve no purpose and would be
unfair to the fans who traveled to Kansas City to see Cam Newton and the
Panthers play the Chiefs.

I would argue that your rationalizations speak to how numb we are
in this society to gun violence and murder. We’ve come to accept our
insanity. We’d prefer to avoid seriously reflecting upon the absurdity of
the prevailing notion that the second amendment somehow enhances our liberty rather than threatens it.

What are your thoughts? Should the NFL have canceled or postponed the games?

Feel free to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Large Professor