The players' association is debating what to do to mitigate the impact of a few bad seeds upon the rest of the league.  A crew of thugs running through the NFL ranks that goes out and seems to find itself in trouble is finally, apparently, cause for concern.

These guys talk about it like they aren't sure what should be done.  They talk about it like they don't know what they can do.

Well, let's see.  How many employees at your company got arrested last night for punching somebody in Vegas?  How many are somehow involved in shootings, or stabbings?

That's the wrong question, isn't it?

The right question is, "How many of those people who do get arrested for drugs or violence still have their jobs?"

If I came to work and acted like I was some sort of punk thug gangster, I'd get fired. 

Are we really so stupefied by political correctness and over-socialization (to use  a Unabomber term) that we have to pretend that acting like a #### gangster is some sort of cultural diversity right?  Are we really such #### that we'll look the other way when these dirtbags get busted over and over again, just because they're good at hitting other people on the football field?

Let me just make an insane suggestion:  if you get rid of the thugs, if you fire the people who behave in a way that would embarrass and shame any organization, if you just cut them loose like you would any other representative of any other organization...I'm willing to bet that we'll be able to find more people who won't act like criminals to come in and take their paycheck and their place on the field, and hit plenty hard in their own right.

And when it all comes out in the wash, people who do have the opportunity to play in the NFL will know going in that it is an opportunity, a job, a chance to go out and earn serious money, and that if they screw it up, just like any other job, they will be fired.   That will not only induce players to behave a little better, it will send a message to kids, who will grow up with that message inside them.  And when it comes to be their time to join the NFL, or to go out into life in some other capacity and start living, they will know as all people should that it is important to conduct yourself with some degree of civility, that you cannot flaunt your wealth and untouchable status by going out and getting into trouble with no regard for the consequences.

I know the NFL and the NBA and Hollywood and every other group that has the power to influence entire generations of Americans doesn't accept that responsibility, and often I hear representatives of these powerful media monsters decrying such sentiments, insisting that I go out and just do a better job raising my kids.

But I already do that.  What do you want me to do about the kids that aren't mine?  I could use a little help here.  I would appreciate it if an organization that supposedly prides itself on excellence had the consistency of character and the backbone to stand up for standards of simple decency, and put its money where its mouth is.  In the end, decent people will abandon indecent organizations.

If you don't understand that, have a look at the NBA.  Where did that league stand right about the time Michael Jordan was winning his 6th championship?  How was their popularity?  Not only was he one of the great competitors of all time, a beacon of intensity and passion on the court, he conducted himself with class and acted acted as an ambassador for the game.  He used his undeniable authority as the greatest basketball player of all time to influence his teammates and others in his league, to lobby for decency.  He recognized his power in the world and he had the character to make it work for him and for us.

As soon as he retired, the NBA went into panic mode.  "Where will we get our next star?  What will we do without the draw of Jordan?  Do we even have an identity?"  Desperation is the mother of stupidity.  Next thing you know, the NBA is pulling kids right out of high school.  Kids who haven't had their character tested in the pressure cooker of NCAA basketball (with all of its faults), where coaches still wield profound influence over the players in terms of their character and their conduct, not just their game.  But superstars aren't born.  They are forged.  These talented kids will probably never live up to their potential because of the life experiences they missed.  The NBA killed the goose.  Too late, they are trying.  They instituted that absurd dress code.  And they are trying to figure out how young is too young.  But the damage is done.  You tell me what the image of the NBA is.  A bunch of punks who get paid millions of dollars before they even do anything, who strut around acting like they know something, like they are somebody.  Kids who are ruined by the hype of the machine and the NBA telling them how great they are, what stars they are, and throwing more money than they can handle at them.

Seriously:  who watches that #### anymore?  I know I don't.

Football isn't far behind, for me.