NFL Fury: On, Off Like a Light Switch

There is a light switch in my office that is not predictable.  I flip it on, the light stays on for a while and then the light goes out.  Sometimes, the light is off, I think, but it comes back on. There is a shortage in the switch.  There is a poor connection.

Switching to an aggressive, fearless personality on the NFL football field and then flipping off that aspect of your personality to become a "kinder, gentler man" is not that easy for some of the NFL players.  Somehow, their switch gets broken, or it gets a shortage and trouble starts.

The violence may "flip on" in the club, at home or in the neighborhood.  Flashbacks of violence kick in; and a clean and clear legal record, "flips off."

NFL players, like military men, are trained to be a certain way.  Sometimes that conditioning is difficult to debrief or to flush out of a man's system. 

What is good behavior on a football field, is criminal behavior off the field.

So, there are conflicts, and paradoxes.  There are behavioral complexities. There is a need for research to restore and repair the "broken switches." 

One player tells another:  "Turn if off, man.  Cool down, we are not on the playing field."

A quote in an 1998 article makes it plain and clear:

''When you think about it, it is a strange thing that we do,'' Giants linebacker Jessie Armstead said. ''During a game we want to kill each other. Then we're told to shake hands and drive home safely. Then a week later we try to kill each other again.''

So, the NFL fury is on and off like a light switch.  The archive of data on divorces and other incidents are an indicator that sometimes the "switch gets broken."