The Football story the press has overlooked

So Football is in the news.

No, not the rich spoiled nincompoops who are virtue signaling by dissing the flag (and their fans).  My cynical take? The saying goes: There is no such thing as bad publicity.

Not the owners, who are losing money because they tolerate this unprofessional behavior and also want to virtue signal their non fans.

My cynical take? In most businesses, pushing religion and politics while you are working for a business is not free speech, but unprofessional behavior. Wasn't this how Tebow got into trouble? So the kerfuffle suggests the owners are bowing to pressure from the now politicized ESPN commentators... and Trumpie boy is not making things better, albeit one could argue he was observing how folks in the real world feel and speaking truth to power.

Not even the growing reports that football, as it is played, causes brain damage, with cognitive problems and impulse control disorder. My take? Similar to what Rush Limbaugh said last week: that this, not the protests, will be the real reason for Football quickly becoming unpopular, because millions of moms won't want their kids to play high school football in fear of them being hurt.

also not in the news: the numerous reports of violence by players, drug abuse by players, and steroid abuse that also can cause increased anger and violent impulses.

As you can tell, I am not exactly a football fan. However: The real story is being overlooked

the WAPO (Aug 31) report noted:

Unable to return to Houston because of flooding caused by Harvey and frustrated at his inability to help, J.J. Watt opened a modest little online fundraising campaign Sunday afternoon from the Houston Texans’ temporary digs in Dallas.

With a Youcaring account, a pledge of $100,000 of his own money, a goal of $200,000 and a video plea, the Texans’ star defensive end started something that is making him the face of relief efforts in Houston. By late morning Thursday, the effort that began Sunday afternoon had reached a truly amazing level: $10 million, helped along by the latest big donation — $1 million each from Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart. 

from Sports Illustrated: JJ Watts raised 37 million dollars for hurricane relief in Houston.

J.J. Watt is a superhuman. What he does on the field, like playing despite having a bone in his finger cut through his skin, is evidence of such.
But it's his recent off-the-field efforts to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey that has elevated him to legendary status. The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year launched a fund on YouCaring.com to raise money for victims of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 26 with an initial goal of $200,000.
At the time, that seemed like a sizable yet attainable goal. In hindsight, perhaps Watt (and the rest of us) underestimated humanity's goodwill and willingness to help others in need. Watt recently closed the fundraiser after raising an astonishing $37,097,298, which is more than 185 times his initial goal. More than 200,000 people donated, meaning Watt got as many donors as he expected dollars.

 so did any sports figure donate to his fund? Yup.  A few.

 From SI:

At a press conference at the Texans' practice facility Wednesday, Watt said Brady donated $100,000 and Belichick gave $50,000 and thanked the two for their "incredibly kind gestures." He also suggested that both intended for the donations to be anonymous.

 after listing a couple of owners who donated, the article adds:

A number of athletes and sports franchises/leagues have donated to the relief efforts through other avenues.

JJWatts, however, did not start his charity work with the Houston fundraiser: Wikipedia notes he has been doing similar work for a couple of years.

the flashy part of delivering supplies is now over, and the fundraising is finished.


Now comes the hard part: Making sure the money will go to responsible groups to clean up and rebuild.

Sigh. Been there, done that.

ah but JJ Watts is not the only athlete busy doing good stuff.

and so the NYPost  (Aug 2017) wonders:

Where are the stories of other NFL people who do similar work?

For example, Kaepernick gave a bundle to charity too... after his girl friend converted him and he became a born again SJW.

Since starting the anthem protests a year ago, Kaepernick pledged to work to help poor minorities often left behind by society. He's worked to feed hungry people in Somalia, and he's donated almost $1 million to groups around the country that help others who are less fortunate. In this latest round of donations, he's helping little girls and people looking for work. This is happening right here in New York.

so where is the publicity for this?

 It doesn't seem to factor into the conversation that NFL owners might want to publicize the kind of charity work players like Kaepernick do. The NFL is a league with a concussion problem, a violence issue, and always seems to have trouble treating women with respect. Yet, a non-violent protester seeking social justice is the greatest threat to the game? 

more here.

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addendum: I have a thought: Why don't all those multimillionaire virtue signaler players donate a million dollars to help the less fortunate? If JJ Watts and Kaepernik can do it, why can't they do the same?

after all, even Trumpie boy gave a million out of his wealth to help hurricane victims, so maybe they should do the  same, if for no other reason than to show him up.

That might defuse the criticism while they "put their money where their mouth is", as the saying goes....