Ethical Behavior in Football

Terral Owens Celebrating a Touchdown

If anyone has watched football in the past decade, I’m sure that you have seen some fights, scrums, foul language, and obscene gestures. Players in the NFL and even the college level don’t really understand how their actions on the field and in the news room affect the youth of American football players. It has gotten out of hand to the point where some parents aren’t letting kids watch the sport because they don’t want their son to act like the supposed professionals on TV. The question is what is to be done about this and where does the NFL need to draw the line.

Touchdown celebrations are one thing and I think most people would agree that it is part of the entertainment aspect of the game and it really gives fans something to look forward to each and every week. Thousands of fans look forward to what Chad OchoCinco and T.O. are going to do each week after they score. Although some of these celebrations show foul sportsmen ship I think that it should be allowed at the professional and even the college level. They way I look at people pay money to watch these teams play and entertainment is the name of the game. But there has to be a line, a line that can’t be crossed.

Fight between Johnson and Finnegan

There is always another side of the coin on issues like this and the opposite side of this coin is where does the NFL and NCAA draw the line on bad behavior. Anything that involves intentionally harming another player or staff member of a team is strictly forbidden. Surly everyone remembers the brawl between Andre Johnson of the Houston Texans and Courtland Finnegan of the Tennessee Titans. These actions by these players are completely uncalled for and make the sport look very bad. These actions then trickle down and fighting has increased 18% since 2000. Its gotten so bad that even coaches have gotten into fights in Pee Wee football games. The following is a cbs article and video of what happened. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/29/earlyshow/living/parenting/main6910811.shtml

These problems have gotten out of control and need to be taken care of. The NFL is one of the most watched programs in the U.S. but they just need to be aware of how it affects everyone. Good behavior needs to be shown from the top down and that will make the sport have a better reputation with all people in America.