Actor Calls NFL a Cult
I've heard the NFL called many things, but how former NFL player and actor Terry Crews referred to them was a first.
Call me crazy, but I've never heard of a cult paying millions of dollars to play a sport. I mean, I'm sorry, I know what Crews may be trying to say, but it's hard to feel sympathy for guys who make or have made millions of dollars. Of course, he wasn't one of them, which might be why he's out there on this issue right now.
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“There is this thing where the team kind of looks at [itself] as your father. And it’s kind of weird, because it’s like ‘You’d do this for the team, right?’ “It’s really like a cult. I’m going to say it. The NFL is a cult, because you’ve been looking at this motto and this logo for your whole life and you believe in it and you’re like ‘They wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. They never would.’ And, uh oh, maybe they would.” |
Crews played for several NFL teams back in the day, including the Chargers, Redskins, Eagles and Rams. However, you might better remember him for his Old Spice commercials, like this one:
Recently, he played in the movie Draft Day, a grenade everyone who saw it wishes he would've fallen upon to serve the greater good. Here he is, comparing acting with football and hyping RB Arian Foster about making the crossover:
And the term journeyman in the NFL doesn't do the word justice. Try to pull up any highlight packages involving Crews, and all you get is a grainy video-the-television clip:
The point being, this dude was clinging at any straw he could find just to stay in the so-called cult.
But he and the other players made a choice. They opted to risk their bodies and their health to play a dangerous sport. I'm not saying the NFL is always right -- in fact, they're more wrong than right -- but no one puts a gun to these players' heads and make them play football.
They know the risk before they take the field.
At least, it seems the players nowadays have a better head on their shoulders than some of the older counterparts. They seem to be following the examples of the past -- think Maurice Clarett -- and taking advantage of the system by earning their degrees instead of blaming the league for their problems.
It seems like, every year, the NFL is being sued by former players for something. Currently, the league has been served papers by former players who accused it of providing painkillers and other drugs that would allow them to remain in the game and avoid missing any time, which has led to serious complications later in life.
Why they waited until now to file the suit is beyond me. Maybe they were waiting to compile and confirm data or something. But still, they had to know they were sacrificing their bodies for their teams. That will be the NFL's last line of defense, anyway. We'll see how it plays in court.
But choice was made by Crews and others, and good or bad, they have to live it for the rest of their lives.
And if you want a real Cult, try this one. It's their tribute to the star-crossed 1960s vixen Edie Sedgwick: