While I appreciate Arian Foster pointing out AB's hypocrisy... and that's what it is on one level...
It misses the point.
The point is that if a core sponsor... a sponsor that is as much a part of the game as Anheuser Busch is...where their product is sold AT the games, their advertising is IN the stadiums, AROUND the stadiums and tens of millions of Dollar a year in advertising revenue are spent trying to reach NFL fans... then the NFL has a SPONSOR problem.
And it really doesn't matter if they sell beer or yoga pants. The bottom line is that one of the biggest sponsors of the NFL just warned them that they'd better get their house in order because this isn't tenable.
If AB pulls its advertising (they won't pull the beer and likely would cite contractual obligations), that could cost the league millions, even if they only pull it for a few weeks.
The fact that all of this is about a moral issue (in this case, domestic violence) isn't really the point. The point is that all of this pressure has brought a MAJOR sponsor to the point of publicly putting the league on notice. Publicly. Corporations generally don't do that. Normally, this would be handled internally, especially when it comes to entities like the NFL. For this to be made public, this was also for the customers of AB to make clear where AB stands. Which is pretty simple, "have a beer. Drink responsibly." They don't want to be associated with this behavior, long term. Certainly not so publicly. So, unless Goodell or the next Commish does something about it, sponsors will look to other venues.
And trust me... it won't take 100 more stories of Domestic Violence with video and pictures of beaten kids like in the Peterson case for fans and big sponsors to not just walk away, but RUN away. Heck, in Minnesota, the Wilf Family has to be crapping kittens. Without AP, that team is a lottery team and they just got a new stadium. They can't do a reverse Herschel Walker trade and they can't cut him and they're going to eat a MASSIVE amount of crap for playing him because those photos are what they are...
As dedicated fans, this is a big concern. We know most players aren't like this and these few bad apples are going to ruin the game we cherish.
THIS. IS. WHY. This is why we must have a new Commissioner more in the mold of Adam Silver who will bring decisiveness, integrity and transparency to the position for the NFL.
Because without it, we're just looking at more of....this. And really, how fun has this been? Turn on football and we get every color commentator giving us his take on the latest disgusting failure in the NFL rather than his take on...well, football.
If we want to get back to football (and I think we all DO) while at the same time NOT saying in any way that the issue of Domestic Violence should go away or is unimportant or shouldn't change in this country (because, like Small Pox, Domestic Violence needs to be eradicated and that's going to take a massive cultural change including significant changes in law as well as how the law is enforced and adjudicated), then we can't ignore the obvious. And that's this: this issue isn't going away.
It's just...not. And every knucklehead...like the 2nd string RB from AZ who just got popped for Domestic Violence tonight will just add gasoline to the bonfire. Worse, because Goodell screwed up the Rice suspension, a neutral arbitrator will likely overturn the 1 year suspension and reduce it something like 6 games or even less "based on precedent". And since Goodell set the crappiest, most lenient precedents, the arbitrator won't have much choice. The NFLPA, which has to do this, is stuck with this bag of poo of a case, will "win" if only in the case that they will prevent this Commish and any future ones from setting a precedent of "double jeopardy". Great. Thanks Goodell.
Which is why a major sponsor saying something NOW is important. Because if guys keep beating women and getting relatively light sentences and Ray Rice plays this year... well, it's important for the OWNERS to know that there will be consequences.
And it won't be picketers who weren't going to the game, anyway. It's major sponsors who will have other major sports that are growing like NASCAR, MLB and the NBA as well as a growing MLS vying for any dollars the NFL loses.
They can fire Goodell now or they can continue to let him spray the fire with a squirt gun and hope it doesn't get out of control. I'm just sayin' that's probably not such a good plan.
Just sayin'
