NFL Shows Cold Heart!

The NFL is the most successfully run sport in the world.  Its popularity, marketing strategy, and TV deals make it a cash cow for owners, coaches, players, and team employees alike.  No one can argue that it is the most followed sport in the United States and is slowly gaining global popularity.  The driving principal behind the NFL's success is that the sport is run like a business.  The NFL is famous for its uniformity and organization.  However, it is those same business ideas that make it a revered sport among fans and players alike.  It is one thing to force fans to pay full price for tickets to meaningless preseason games featuring mostly players who will be CFL bound following training camps or to be at constant odds over the Players Union over retirement benefits for ex-players, but a decision this week by the suits in the NFL's New York headquarters has exposed the NFL for what it truly is.  A cold hearted business.

Earlier this week Tampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant and his wife had to endure the horrible tragedy of losing their infant son.  The 3 month-old Matthew Bryany Jr. passed away Wednesday evening.  The NFL issued its condolences to the Bryant family and even wrote a glowing article regarding all Matt Bryant has done on the leagues website.  Despite all this, the NFL informed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that they would not be granted a roster exemption for today's game against the Green Bay Packers.  This meant that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would either have to play a man down against the Packers and allow Bryant time to grieve with his family and sign a kicker off the street for a game or force Bryant to play on Sunday despite losing his son three days earlier.  This is a decision that the NFL should have made for Bryant and the Buccaneers by granting the team a roster exemption for today's game.

Some people may argue that it shouldn't make a difference playing with a 44 man game day roster instead of 45.  But in a league like the NFL, where injuries are so prevalent, playing a man down is a huge disadvantage.  But this is about more than a competitive balance.  It is about the NFL refusing to show any sympathy or human emotion towards the Bryant family.  After suffering such a horrible tragedy, Bryant should not have to make the decision of whether or not to play today(he is in uniform and kicking by the way).  The NFL should be ashamed of its decision and should issue an apology to the Bryant family, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and fans alike.  It won't happen, but it would be the right thing to do.

Even though I am a Green Bay Packer fan, I will be rooting for Matt Bryant today to make every single kick he lines up for.  Even if it means a Packer loss.  My thoughts and prayers are with the Bryant family and I wish them all the best.