ATLANTA — Two more big NFL controversies are the center of a turbulent national debate, and many fans say the issues are bigger than any one player and bigger than professional football.
The question—is the multi-billion-dollar enterprise known as the NFL really serving its fans and players, or failing to uphold the nation’s values of diversity and inclusion?
Fans watched the latest chapter in the long-running dispute between quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the NFL play out in Metro Atlanta over the weekend.
And then there was what happened Thursday night—fans now debating an on-field fight and assault-with-a-helmet: did “NFL justice” reflect the realities of real-world crime and punishment, and set any kind of positive example to children, parents and professional athletes?
Sunday afternoon at Bench Warmers Sports Grill on Clairmont Road, fans watching multiple TV screens cheered the teams and the players. But not the NFL.
“I don’t believe so,” said Joe Brieding. “I think they’re a little behind” the times.
Fans expressed frustration with the NFL over the punishment—or lack of it—that the NFL imposed on players for their on-field assault and counter-assault during Thursday night's game between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.
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And fans are frustrated over the latest breakdown—this one on Saturday in Atlanta— between the NFL and quarterback Colin Kaepernick in their long-running dispute that continues to expose some of this nation’s rawest nerves.
Photos: Colin Kaepernick gets his shot at the NFL
“I think times are progressing so quick, and the NFL is not progressing as quick as the times are,” Brieding said.
Fan frustration goes back years.
“I feel like the NFL missed the mark on a lot of different rulings in the past,” Aukaus Solomon said.
The NFL is still under fire months and years later for seemingly giving a pass to players accused of off-the-field family violence.
“I want them to get it right, because they’ve gotten it wrong a lot of times, so hopefully they’ll take the correct action and get this right,” Solomon said of NFL leaders. "I definitely think change of leadership is probably the best action.”
Mo Ivory, Professor and Director of the Entertainment, Sports and Media Law Initiative at Georgia State University College of Law echoed those concerns.
“A lot of people have brought that up and want to know why crisis is not dealt with better in this organization,” she said.
"Is it leadership? Is it an issue of leadership? The NFL hasn’t necessarily had to deal with these issues before in a world where we are beginning to confront these issues of diversity and gender and abuse and at all levels," Ivory said. "I think it’s new for many companies. And many companies are having to deal with it. But they [the NFL leadership] needs better crisis management."
"The NFL is made up of white, male owners, and that does not reflect the players, that does not reflect the fans, and it certainly doesn’t reflect the crises that are happening around them," Ivory added. "So, perhaps that’s where they have to start.”
Fans on Sunday at the sports grill were saying they hope the NFL will find a way, from the top of its leadership down, to get back in the game—where the fans are.