LET’S HAVE A REVIEW: ‘National Felon League’ no longer entertaining…
I’ve been asked why I no longer take 4 to 8 hours out of my Sunday to watch the NFL. It’s not that I no longer like the Patriots… it’s just that I see felons running away from the cops just about everyday… but I’m keeping an open mind. Here’s the deal, when someone from the Pats sends someone down to watch me filming the crime problem on the streets of Hyannis, I’ll reconsider watching 4 to 8 hours of football every week. The NFL has a serious image problem and it’s time for them to do something about their brand. But for the time being, news highlights and snippets of boring press conferences will tide me over just fine.
Here’s an idea: maybe the league should change it’s name from the NFL (National Felon League) to the NGCL (National Good Citizen League).
Think I’m exaggerating? Here’s a review with the facts. The following is a 2013 HN article on the subject:
Original HN article published 7/11/2013:
The sad thing is I’m not shocked… that another New England Patriot player is in hot water. This time for OUI and being on probation for punching a cop!
New England cornerback Alfonzo Dennard was just arrested for drunk driving in Lincoln Nebraska
… this just a few short months after being sentenced to 30 days in Jail and 2 years probation for punching a cop outside of a bar.
Let’s fast forward another few months into the future…
It’s a crisp fall Sunday and I’m looking for something relaxing and wholesome to do on my well deserved day off.
Here’s what I’m thinking: Maybe I’ll head over to church where I’ll find serenity in prayer. Then I’ll casually stretch some muscles as I rake up the yard. And to top it all off, I’ll take a relaxing long walk down to the waterside with my furry best friend, Gracie Marie, a pure-hearted gentle giant of a rescue dog.
One thing I will not be doing anymore is watching a bunch of “professional” overindulged NFL thugs chasing a leather ball around some grassy playing field.
Why? Because I take my televised entertainment seriously. Watching four to 8 hours of an overly hyped parade which includes a growing number “gangsta-like” criminal minds being idolized by sports commentators and a nation of naive voyeurs is not my idea of Sunday fun.
There’s something grotesquely dishonest about making some of these “Pros” out to be athletic heroes!

Remember O.J. and the Olympic torch?
Because the NFL has such a high rate of criminal activity, it seems to me the league has it’s priorities way out of whack. It’s all a big lie… this profile of the muscular, possibly “doped,” criminal vanities.
It has become so bad that I become sickened anytime I see a known million dollar criminal spike the ball. It almost feels like a spike-in-the-face. Who has hours upon hours to waste watching that bull-[bleep]?
Not I.
I’d much rather spend my precious time watching realistic shows like “Cops,” where I can see these animals out in their natural habitat on dirty city streets… trying to outrun and ultimately getting captured, locked up, and put in cages where they belong!
Now that is true entertainment value for my money!
… it certainly sits better in my stomach than watching similar lowlifes spiking a football while throngs of memory-challenged “athletic supporters” drunkenly cheer them on.
If I’m getting drunk looking for something to cheer wildly about I’m watching a show which highlights cops tackling and cuffing heroin dealers!

Michael Vick and his cruel “dog hell…”
… so I’m running out this fall and buying a nerf football and spiking it in front of the television for things well worth celebrating, which will not include a league which highlights and idolizes just any “talented” thug… from those convicted of cruelty to animals to homicide!
Call it a moment of sanity. But I’m officially quitting the NFL show until they clean up their act.
So you’re still skeptical and want to see some facts to prove I’m not over-exaggerating?
Here’s a list of NFL players arrested in just the last 7 months! The NFL HIGHLIGHTS that consumers need to know about:
1.) 7/11 – Alfonzo Dennard of the N.E. Patriots arrested for drunk driving…
2.) 7/6 – Dan Connor of the N.Y. Giants, arrested for possession of switchblade at Philadelphia International Airport…
3.) 6/29 – Joe Lefeged of Indianapolis Colts, arrested for carrying an unregistered pistol after a traffic stop in Washington, D.C…
4.) 6/26 – Aaron Hernandez of the New England Patriots, arrested for murder and weapon charges… also under suspicion in other homicides…
5.) 6/25 – Ausar Walcott of the Cleveland Browns, arrested for attempted murder after he punched a man outside a club in New Jersy…
6.) 6/10 – Adam “Pacman” Jones of the Cincinnati Bengals, arrested and jailed after hitting a woman outside of downtown Cincinnati nightclub…
7.) 5/31 – Evan Rodriquez of the Chicago Bears, arrested for OUI and driving like a reckless nut…
8.) 5/26 – Cody Grimm of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, arrested and charged with public intoxication…
9.) 5/26 – Joe Morgan of the New Orleans Saints, arrested for OUI and driving without a license in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana…
10.) 5/20 – Chad Johnson, free agent, Arrested on charges that he violated probation stemming from a 2012 altercation with his now ex-wife, TV reality star Evelyn Lozada. Later served 7 days of a 30-day sentence after he slapped his attorney on the backside in court June 10, 2013.
11.) 5/17 – Michael Goodson of the New York Jets, arrested in New Jersey on Handgun and marijuana possession charges…
12.) 5/12 – Jason Peters of the Philadelphia Eagles, arrested in Monroe, La., after allegedly drag racing and resisting arrest…
13.) 5/10 – Titus Young, free agent, arrested in San Clemente for allegedly breaking into a home. His third arrest in one week…
14.) 5/8 – Corey MacIntyre, free agent, arrested after an argument in his home in Port St. Lucie, Fla. and charged with misdemeanor battery.
15.) 5/5 – Titus Young, free agent, arrested – AGAIN – on suspicion of DUI then arrested again the same day for trying to take his car from a tow yard…
16.) 5/3 – Daryl Washington of the Arizona, arrested for assault after an argument with an
ex-girlfriend in her Phoenix apartment…
17.) 5/3 – Armonty Bryant of the Cleveland Browns, the seventh-round draft pick was arrested for DUI in Ada, Okla.
18.) 4/29 – Claude Davis of the New York Jets, arrested and charged with possession of marijuana…
19.) 4/29 – Cliff Harris of the New York Jets, arrested and charged with marijuana possession…
20.) 4/21 – Rolando McClain of Baltimore… arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in Decatur, Alabama…
21.) 4/20 – Ronnell Lewis of the Detroit Lions, arrested during an altercation at an Oklahoma bar. Booked on 3 misdemeanor charges including public intoxication.
22.) 4/18 – William Moore of the Atlanta Falcons, arrested on a misdemeanor charge of simple battery in Atlanta…
23.) 4/17 – Quentin Groves of the Cleveland Browns, arrested in prostitution sting in Ohio…
24.) 3/26 – Amari Spievey of the Detroit Lions, arrested for 3rd degree assault, risk of injury to a child, disorderly conduct after child support dispute in Middletown, Conn… his hometown…
25.) 3/23 – Brandon Barden of the Tennessee Titans, arrested on suspicion of DUI after his car went off the road in Eastern Georgia…
26.) 3/22 – Trumaine Johnson of the St. Louis Rams, arrested on misdemeanor DUI charge…
27.) 3/21 – Evan Rodriguez of the Chicago Bears, charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer in Miami…
28.) 3/10 – Cody Grimm of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, arrested in Christianburg, Va. and charged with public intoxication…
29.) 3/9 – Quinton Carter of the Denver Broncos, arrested in Nevada on felony charges alleging that he cheated at a craps game at the Texas Station casino…
30.) 3/7 – Javarris James of the Arizona Cardinals, arrested in Lee County, Fla. for failure to appear in
court…
31.) 2/24 – J’Marcus Webb of the Chicago Bears, arrested on misdemeanor drug charges for possession of cannabis and paraphernalia in Pulaski County, Illinois…
32.) 2/24 – Desmond Bryant of the Oakland Raiders, arrested in Miami on a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief…
33.) 2/20 – Al Netter of San Francisco… arrested on suspicion of DUI in San Jose…
34.) 2/18 – Da’Quan Bowers of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, arrested after a .40-caliber handgun was found in his luggage at New York’s LaGuardia Airport…
35.) 2/8 – Michael Boley of the New York Giants, arrested on child abuse charges in Ala., three days after being cut by the team…
36.) 1/29 – Leroy Hill of Seattle… arrested on two felony counts of domestic violence stemming from an alleged incident with his girlfriend…
37.) 1/22 – Jay Ratliff of the Dallas Cowboys, charged with DWI after after his pickup truck struck an 18-wheeler in Grapevine, Texas…
38.) 1/17 – Andre Smith of the Cincinnati Bengals, arrested on a charge of carrying a loaded gun at Atlanta’s airport…
39.) 1/10 – Chris Rainey of the Pittsburgh Steelers, charged with misdemeanor simple battery after an altercation with his girlfriend in Gainesville, Fla…
40.) 1/8 – Rolando McClain of the Oakland Raiders, charged with violating rules on car window tint and giving a false name to police in Decatur, Ala…
41.) 1/4 – Robert Sands of the Cincinnati Bengals, charged with assault in the fourth degree, domestic violence after an altercation with his wife in their Florence, Ky. home…
The list goes on and on and I’m tired of it… we need better role models for our kids and families.
(The above arrest information is according to U-T San Diego’s NFL arrest database.)
7/11/2013
Robert Bastille,
P.S. Tonight's HyTown Vignette features a public service announcement from Chris Rock... [Press play]