Something most people don't understand about the NFL draft

[RB TexLa]

The NFL goes through every aspect of a players life. They talk to summer job employers, ex girlfriends, old neighbors, anyone and everyone they can find from your life. They care about 3 things: Anything that can be a distraction from football for them or you, anything psychologically wrong with you, and any way that you can be forced to do something by a criminal element.

They find something on most everyone. For any strike against you, your talent must be enough to overcome it. It is much like a slave auction. The next best doesn't have to be better than you to take your spot in the draft if they have less strikes against them.

The current football related discussion here is focused on the distraction issue. To give you an example of how small a thing can be and lower your draft position I had a friend who was drafted in the 6th round, he played in the league for 7 years. After a few years a new assistant GM told him that the team he was with at the time had almost drafted him in the 3ed round but chose to pass because of his arrest record. His arrest record consisted of one drunk and disorderly charge that was dropped. He got into a bar fight when he was 19 was arrested and then let go. But that was enough for him to drop three rounds and lose a ton of money.

I'm not making any judgments or statements about the current potential draftee, the league or the teams, just sharing a little information.

[pnwmom]

1. How is having a drunk and disorderly charge comparable to being gay?

We have laws that protect gay people from employment discrimination, but not people who get into bar fights.

[Kurska]

2. As a gay man it is clear OP isn't conflating the two.

What they are saying is that the NFL draft hyperscrutinzes every single aspect of your life. I'm a gay man and a football fan, but even I understand there is a great deal of entrenched good ole boy homophobia in the NFL. I just hope the young man is mentally strong enough and physically gifted enough to rise above it.

[dsc]

3. It depends upon where you live

You may have such a law but I don't.

[treestar]

4. I'm amazed that they care

I thought winning was number one with them and therefore, say, a DUI wouldn't mean anything to them if the player was better than others without that.

[hack89]

13. They are hypersensitive to players disrupting or embarrassing the team

due to immature or criminal behavior. Drug use is an issue because of the potential to losing the player due to suspensions. DUIs or histories of off the field violence are red flags because of the uncertainty that the players can change their behavior (young, rich, entitled and immature can be a bad combination). Aaron Hernandez is the perfect example - lots of red flags in his college days that were overlooked because of his talent.

[treestar]

15. When it comes to drugs and drinking

but being gay - that doesn't raise a red flag about anything.

[hack89]

18. The concern there is locker room chemistry

I personally don't think it should be an issue but apparently some teams are more tolerant than others.

[treestar]

20. Yeah but how important is that?

Like many say, it is probably so they've been showering with gays all their lives.

I hated gym showers, but never recalled worrying about lesbians. It's like, so what? Unless someone is directly propositioned in the shower, which likely never happens.

Among adults, I don't see the problem. Kids might be another matter.

[hack89]

21. Don't know - I have no idea what NFL locker rooms are like

I would suspect with the enormous pressure to win and the corresponding high turnover for losing coaches, NFL coaches and general managers are conservative and risk adverse. Because this guy is not a sure fire NFL superstar, it will be easy to justify (at least in their minds) picking someone else before him.

[treestar]

24. The pressure to win, exactly

Would trump all other considerations, including the homophobe concern about other guys in the locker room.

[Are_grits_groceries]

5. This is true.

However, they will ignore almost anything if you can play.
There are people on their rosters who have committed and been found guilty of many crimes.

If Aaron Hernandez was not locked up, I wonder if he wouldn't have played for somebody if they could have gotten him on their roster.

Nothing is a distraction if they don't want it to be. If Tebow had had a great NFL start, the Broncos would have moved heaven and earth to set up a less distracting media horde. Same with the Jets.

So they should get major pushback on their 'distraction' meme and the 'he can't play' meme that they are screaming about 24/7.

The owners are for the most part white, conservative, 1% bigoted jackasses.

If everybody keeps 'understanding' the NFL and other leagues, they won't ever change.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. As a non sports fan, that seems ludicrous on it's face considering the number of crimes

NFL players wind up involved in. Was the Dog killing orgy group a distraction to Vick? Or did the NFL not notice that when going through all aspects of his life?
"These are arrests and citations involving NFL players since 2000 that were more serious than speeding tickets. U-T San Diego reviewed hundreds of news reports and public records in compiling it. The list cannot be considered comprehensive in part because some incidents may not have been reported and some public records proved to be elusive. Increased media coverage of incidents also probably accounts for more incidents listed in recent years.
http://www.utsandiego.com/nfl/arrests-database/

Admittedly, that list is so long as to be cumbersome, so here's the 2013 Greatest NFL Arrest hits.......
http://www.ajc.com/gallery/sports/football/nfl-players-arrested-2013/g75d/#3130911

[Bluenorthwest]

7. After reading how many NFL players get into legal trouble, I'd really like to hear what

the OP has to say about that. Is jail time not a 'distraction'?

[Motown_Johnny]

8. Then they do a terrible job.

Judging from the number of arrests of football players, they either don't do what you claim or they suck at it.

[Nye Bevan]

9. So, slave auctions were "much like" today's NFL draft?

Don't you think that's somewhat of a trivialization of the true horror of auctioning slaves?

[TBF]

10. Aaron Hernandez made it over that

high bar with his gang tats ... so I'm guessing any rejection of Sam is going to be 100% bigotry.

Apologizing for them isn't going to help. We "understand" just fine.

[CBGLuthier]

11. It is sad that a simple, basic fact about a man's life will be equated

to all the "bad boy" types that the NFL is rife with.

When a gay player kills his lover, as one or two NFL players have done, they can compare them but until then such comparisons are bigoted bullshit and should be condemned as such and never tolerated.

[cherokeeprogressive]

12. "It is much like a slave auction."

[TheMathieu]

14. Rationalizing bigotry is not okay. The onus is on the NFL to change,

not for LGBT players to ignore what they are and cannot change.

[Boom Sound 416]

16. You're only making judgments.

And I didn't find any insight

[bullwinkle428]

17. Lawrence Phillips had more baggage than O'Hare airport.

[Boom Sound 416]

19. Ding

Talent is the location, location, location of the athlete industry.

[dionysus]

22. i don't draft NFL players with you.

[ScreamingMeemie]

23. To a point. Some teams are more interested in this than others.

No, some teams do not comb through every aspects of a player's life, and the player is protected and can also report any probing that he feels is over the line. It is NOT as you say with every team or every player.