** this is a rant, no need to read, but I have to get it out somewhere **
My apologies if already discussed here, I may have missed it. I have been playing on Twitter today and there is quite a bit of animosity being directed at Britt and the Chiefs regarding the drinking and driving accident that happened this year. It was tragic. Britt should bear the responsibility. We pray that the little girl can regain some semblance of normalcy and that her family is not decimated financially as they go through this emotionally decimating trial. Britt will be punished as a criminal, maybe not to the extent that our emotions want him to be, but to the fullest the law allows... and then he will be punished again in a civil suite. His life as he knew it is over.
But now the media is turning on the Chiefs and Andy Reid. In a Yahoo article Monday evening, Pete Wetzel claims that the Chiefs should be held responsible because they knew the risks Britt posed, and because they should have known, and probably did know that he was drinking at the office. Look, this is nothing new. The boss has a bottle of good scotch in the cabinet, the guys may have a bottle of whiskey in the drawer for a cap after a hard day at work. It's not abnormal in business or in sports. But, the NFL has rules against this, at least that is the information I have. And if the Chiefs knew Britt was drinking in house and allowed it, or if they allowed others to be drinking, then the NFL needs to step in. Moreover, if they step in here then they need to be looking into the other organizations as well in order to make a statement that this will not be tolerated. I guarantee that the Chiefs are not the only ones doing it, and if you're going after one, you need to let them all know it is zero tolerance, not just for the club that almost killed a 6 year old girl. They are trying for a culture change (sports w/o booze) and that takes more than one example... either that or this is all just optics and for show... hmmm...
What really gets me about this whole thing is people like Wetzel and the media getting on a moral high horse when he and his collogues on Yahoo Sports College Podcast brag openly and proudly of their drinking while recording, and the places and number of drinks they have had at different times. They talk openly about the copious amounts of beer consumed at bars while watching sports by themselves and other spectators. And while Pete and his coworkers brag about drinking at work they are normalizing dangerous behavior for those who listen, they are promoting a behavior that is detrimental to their health... and really, I don't care. As an adult I understand it and I can blow it off or laugh. But Pete and the media want it both ways. If they want to blame the Chiefs for a culture that promoted or tolerates drinking on the job, they need to accept some of the blame themselves. They have helped promote this culture of drinking and drunkenness' around sports. They have done very little to reign it in. The fact is, many in the media either directly or indirectly get support from alcohol manufacturers; they are major sponsors of sports teams, venues and podcasts.
I am not a prude, I like my beer and I love a good scotch. A good wine with dinner is wonderful. And I am old enough to admit that I have made a few mistakes that, if not by the grace of God, I could have killed someone or myself. So I am not pushing that agenda.
We need to understand that Britt Reid is going to be punished. He was the adult who committed this crime. He is the man, who knows he has a problem, who made the decision to drink, and then get behind the wheel of his truck and drive home. Maybe someone else was there. Maybe someone else could have stopped him. If so, we can cross that bridge when we get to it. And yes, the Chiefs and the NFL have a policy against booze being on campus. We don't yet know if this was Britt secretly drinking or if this was a common and open violation of the rules. Either way, it does not change who is responsible. Yahoo is not going to be held responsible when Pete or Dan or Pat commit a crime after a saucy podcast. Rivals is not going to be held responsible for their people's mistakes after they drink openly on a podcast. So why the double standard by these media types? Righteous outrage is easy to gin up until you look in the mirror.
** end of rant **
My apologies if already discussed here, I may have missed it. I have been playing on Twitter today and there is quite a bit of animosity being directed at Britt and the Chiefs regarding the drinking and driving accident that happened this year. It was tragic. Britt should bear the responsibility. We pray that the little girl can regain some semblance of normalcy and that her family is not decimated financially as they go through this emotionally decimating trial. Britt will be punished as a criminal, maybe not to the extent that our emotions want him to be, but to the fullest the law allows... and then he will be punished again in a civil suite. His life as he knew it is over.
But now the media is turning on the Chiefs and Andy Reid. In a Yahoo article Monday evening, Pete Wetzel claims that the Chiefs should be held responsible because they knew the risks Britt posed, and because they should have known, and probably did know that he was drinking at the office. Look, this is nothing new. The boss has a bottle of good scotch in the cabinet, the guys may have a bottle of whiskey in the drawer for a cap after a hard day at work. It's not abnormal in business or in sports. But, the NFL has rules against this, at least that is the information I have. And if the Chiefs knew Britt was drinking in house and allowed it, or if they allowed others to be drinking, then the NFL needs to step in. Moreover, if they step in here then they need to be looking into the other organizations as well in order to make a statement that this will not be tolerated. I guarantee that the Chiefs are not the only ones doing it, and if you're going after one, you need to let them all know it is zero tolerance, not just for the club that almost killed a 6 year old girl. They are trying for a culture change (sports w/o booze) and that takes more than one example... either that or this is all just optics and for show... hmmm...
What really gets me about this whole thing is people like Wetzel and the media getting on a moral high horse when he and his collogues on Yahoo Sports College Podcast brag openly and proudly of their drinking while recording, and the places and number of drinks they have had at different times. They talk openly about the copious amounts of beer consumed at bars while watching sports by themselves and other spectators. And while Pete and his coworkers brag about drinking at work they are normalizing dangerous behavior for those who listen, they are promoting a behavior that is detrimental to their health... and really, I don't care. As an adult I understand it and I can blow it off or laugh. But Pete and the media want it both ways. If they want to blame the Chiefs for a culture that promoted or tolerates drinking on the job, they need to accept some of the blame themselves. They have helped promote this culture of drinking and drunkenness' around sports. They have done very little to reign it in. The fact is, many in the media either directly or indirectly get support from alcohol manufacturers; they are major sponsors of sports teams, venues and podcasts.
I am not a prude, I like my beer and I love a good scotch. A good wine with dinner is wonderful. And I am old enough to admit that I have made a few mistakes that, if not by the grace of God, I could have killed someone or myself. So I am not pushing that agenda.
We need to understand that Britt Reid is going to be punished. He was the adult who committed this crime. He is the man, who knows he has a problem, who made the decision to drink, and then get behind the wheel of his truck and drive home. Maybe someone else was there. Maybe someone else could have stopped him. If so, we can cross that bridge when we get to it. And yes, the Chiefs and the NFL have a policy against booze being on campus. We don't yet know if this was Britt secretly drinking or if this was a common and open violation of the rules. Either way, it does not change who is responsible. Yahoo is not going to be held responsible when Pete or Dan or Pat commit a crime after a saucy podcast. Rivals is not going to be held responsible for their people's mistakes after they drink openly on a podcast. So why the double standard by these media types? Righteous outrage is easy to gin up until you look in the mirror.
** end of rant **
