Two recent pro football incidents demonstrated how screwed up our priorities are in punishing bad behavior.
Steelers’ wide receiver DK Metcalf was suspended for two games without pay in December after a physical confrontation with a fan. In January, wide receiver Alec Pierce was ejected from the Colts’ season finale for accidentally “bumping” a field judge while arguing a call. The Pierce ejection occurred over the same weekend President Trump was illegally “offsides” in Venezuela as he spent billions of dollars bringing Nicolas Maduro to “justice.”
Our tolerance for bad behavior from pro sports celebrities is way lower than our tolerance for misbehavior (often blatantly illegal) from elected officials. Many pro sports figures have morality clauses in their contracts. They can be sanctioned and their reputations tarnished for misbehavior on and off the field. No fights in bars, no punching obnoxious fans or pushy sports writers, no swearing at officials.
It seems we have hardly any standards any more for politicians. They can raise their own pay, trade stocks on insider information, invade sovereign countries, steal elections, and no one seems to get that upset. With gerrymandering and voter suppression, they can even select their own voters. Most of the time I wonder if they represent us or their donors.
Today, we’re surprising if politicians DON’T lie, cheat and steal. Lord knows they have a track record for it. Maybe we believe the myth that misbehaving politicians can be voted out of office whereas a sports pro can’t be voted out by the fans if his or her contract holds.
Politicians lying on occasion is one thing. Sometimes the greater good requires a fib or little white lie. However, weaponizing Big Data, social media, and artificial intelligence to create your own voter group and marginalize opponents is another matter. We weren’t helped when Reagan trashed the fairness doctrine in the 1980s which allowed Rupert Murdock to create a right-wing media industrial complex.
At this point, we are light years beyond Lincoln buying and selling votes to get the Emancipation Proclamation passed. We are also well beyond arm-twisting to get the Civil Rights Act or the Affordable Care Act passed.
We need limitations on politicians. This year, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we need a new declaration of zero tolerance for illegal and unethical behavior from those elected to represent us.
By Duane Kanagy,
Gettysburg
I couldn’t agree more.
Absolutely. Term limits are a start, but the “referees” in the federal government, such as the inspectors general, have been removed. One could say the rails are off. A field judge can immediately expel a player who violates the rules. Why do we need to wait years to expel or impeach a politician who consistently violates the rules?