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The Hypocrisy of the NFL fan

I take a look at the Steeler fan in yet another example of not practicing what you preach by NFL fans. Michael Vick was not welcomed with open arms by the Steelers faithful as he was brought in to fill a back-up quarterback role.

By whodeyfans
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

This post may come across as a jab against Steeler nation, and to be honest, part of it probably is. That is not the only message though. This is something we see far too often in professional sports and I am just calling a spade a spade.

Currently there are 19,000 signatures on a Change.Org petition to keep Mike Vick from becoming a player on the Pittsburgh Steelers. This form also allows signers to leave comments and we have been blessed with some of these beauties:

I have been a loyal Steelers fan for over 50 years and I am sickened to think that the integrity that we, the Steeler Nation, have been so proud of is in jeopardy. Art Rooney Sr. is probably turning over in his grave at the thought of having this felon on the team. Michael Vic (sic) didn't have the guts to attempt to brutalize someone that could defend themselves, but brutalized a species that could not stand up against him. Go to hell Michael Vic ... that is where you belong, not Pittsburgh.

Here's another:

The NFL has a ban on domestic violence right? Well there are MANY types of domestic violence...like the MURDERING, ELECTROCUTING, SLAMMING& DROWNING of the greatest, loving breed of all..The Pitbull!! I guess the NFL COMMISSIONER COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE ANIMAL ABUSE....WHY? because he has NO sense of life& love for these animals!! BAN VICK PERMANENTLY! !

Yesterday just happened to be National Women's Equality Day and also National Dog Day. How fitting that the top two quarterbacks on the Steelers' roster each have disgraced one of these two groups. How hypocritical is the public outpour of concern about Michael Vick when the starting quarterback has quite a few skeletons in his closet? Let's not forget that Ben Roethlisberger (while he may have beat the charges) is no saint himself.

Ben asked us to go to his 'VIP' area (back of Capital). We all went with him. He said there were shots for us, numerous shots were on the bar, and he told us to take them. His bodyguard came and took my arm and said come with me, he escorted me into a side door/hallway, and sat me on a stool. He left and Ben came back with his penis out of his pants. I told him it wasn't OK, no, we don't need to do this and I proceeded to get up and try to leave. I went to the first door I saw, which happened to be a bathroom. He followed me into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. I still said no, this is not OK, and he then had sex with me. He said it was OK. He then left without saying anything.

It is not just Steelers fans who are guilty of this. It happens for all fanbases of all teams. We look the other way when Vontaze Burfict twists a player's' ankle after a play is over. We saw it again when women showed up in droves wearing Ray Rice jerseys to the Ravens' game following the video of him knocking out his wife surfaced.

The problem is that as a society we fail to distinguish between celebrity and intelligence. Just because someone can score a touchdown does not make them a role model. I can't just blame the fans either. Organizations will sign players who can help their team, period. Many past infractions can be dismissed if the player in question can help them win now. Look no further than the Minnesota Vikings who decide to post the following tweet from camp this preseason:

Not even a year removed from a child abuse case, they decide to post a picture of Adrian Peterson for family day. There are countless other examples of this from Ray Lewis to Richie Incognito.

It's time for fans to stop their fake outrage when pretending to care about social issues in professional sports.

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