Remember Jonathan Martin?

I would like to begin by saying that I sincerely hope that these are the last words spent discussing the awful mess that has occupied the NFL for the past weeks.

I would also like to say that I think what just about every other lucid person with a microphone or public medium has already said: what Ray Rice did was disgusting and anyone who lays hands on a woman should be put in prison.

Now, with all of these people saying this same thing and the overall outrage following this fiasco, why is it that some (most notably CBS’s James Brown) want the NFL to set an example for the rest of the world?

There are very few black and white, clear cut, “you definitely cannot do that” issues that remain in our world today. I would like to believe that they are: do not touch children, do not hit women and there are some words you just cannot say.

It does not matter the context. It does not matter the reasoning for it. Plain and simple you cannot do those things.

That is why I find it odd that people want the NFL to launch some big campaign to “raise awareness” for domestic abuse. Why is this an issue that we need to “raise awareness” for? Is what already happened not enough?

I am not saying that this is an issue that should be forever forgotten and we should just move on. I am saying that there are some legitimately sick people in this world who, no matter how much we “raise awareness” for certain issues, will continue to do awful things to other humans.

Not everything has to be a cause.


Andrew Hayes is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports.