Get a grip: Cheering player injuries is despicable

Published Tuesday, Oct 15, 2013 at 12:50 pm EDT
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Dear NFL Fans,

We are human beings just like you.

Texans fans when struggling quarterback Matt Schaub left the game with an ankle injury. (AP Photo)

That's the number one message that I want to get across in this letter to any and all NFL fans.  And not just NFL fans necessarily, but fans of any professional and perhaps even major college sports teams.

I mention that we (professional athletes, which I was for seven years) are people just like you because I think a disconnect forms when that is forgotten or overlooked. That is the primary reason ugly situations like the ones that took place on Sunday in San Francisco and Houston unfold.

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Just like you, we have family and close friends who still make fun of us for how chubby we were in middle school or for wearing sweatpants to school every day (long story) in junior high. Most of us truly love the sport of football and were huge fans before realizing our dream— the dream most of you shared with us— of playing professional football. Sure, there are some guys who either don't really love the game or take their good fortune for granted, but don't let that ruin it for you. If they want to be jerks, that's their prerogative. But, the vast majority of players are down to earth guys who are unbelievably appreciative for what they have.

As an example, I never realized I had what it took to be an NFL player until I actually made a team. Growing up in Wyomissing, Pa. as a gigantic fan of the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles, the idea of being a professional player didn’t occur to me. After all, my father is 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds. I didn't exactly think I was destined to be an NFL offensive lineman. In other words, I was a regular kid—just like you were.

My strong suspicion is you don't see players as people. You may not personally know any NFL players, so to you, they are just genetically gifted super-humans that you watch on television or read about or perhaps even see perform inside some colossal stadium from time to time.

I know this to be true because several of my friends and family members have made comments to me over the years about how differently they look at pro athletes now that they have an up-close and personal look of what it is really like through my experience. They aren't happy when a guy gets hurt because they spoke to me shortly after my major back surgery at multiple levels in Buffalo, or in the days after my career ended due to a herniated disc in my neck which resulted in a bruised spinal cord. They know the pain and the fear and long-term implications that go with it.

The same goes for wanting players to get cut or traded all the time. They still want their Eagles to make certain moves, but they look at it differently now. They know what it was like for me and my family every time I got fired. Most fans are desensitized to those things, but if you actually know or knew a player, you wouldn't be.

That's why I highly doubt any of the people in Houston who were cheering when Matt Schaub got hurt actually know any of the Texans. I just refuse to believe that they would be that callous and cruel if they did. People can't be that evil, can they?

The thing that blows my mind is that many of the people cheering have children, some of whom might have even been in attendance with their parents at the game.  Forget even about sending a horrific message and setting a terrible example for a second and consider this: What would you do if somebody cheered when your son got hurt in Pop Warner? Or even junior high or high school? I'd include college in that as well but who knows anymore.

It'd be despicable if somebody cheered when your child got hurt, right? So what's the difference? It's ok because the NFL guy is getting paid? What if your child's dream, and likely your dream for them as well, comes true and they make it to the NFL one day?  Would it be OK for people to cheer when he got hurt then because he is a professional?

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Of course not. Yet you don't think about the fact that Schaub is somebody's child. Not only is he somebody's child, he's a father and a husband as well, which leads me to a point that is much more important than cheering when he went down with an ankle injury.
Schaub's family was reportedly confronted at their house recently by a fan who was angry about Schaub’s recent string of bad play. I'm not even going to get into the fact that he is by far the best quarterback in franchise history, has brought unprecedented success to the team, or has been the biggest reason why the Texans are even relevant. That's not what matters here.

What matters is that it is totally unacceptable to go to an NFL player’s, or really any other human being's house, in order to express your displeasure with their performance at work.  What is wrong with people?

Schaub has three young girls, all under the age of 5.  As the father of two daughters, I can't even imagine the thoughts that would go through my head if there were the slightest hint their well-being was being threatened in any way.  With all of the random shootings and tragic stories like the recent one involving the death of Adrian Peterson's son, it is simply not OK to go to someone's residence like that. Anyone stupid enough to come to somebody's house would have to be treated as a serious threat unless proven otherwise.  It's so scary to even think about.

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The NFL is a tough business. Players get paid handsomely to deal with the fan and media scrutiny, the pain, the injury risk, the lack of job security, etc.  They signed up for that and know it comes with the territory.

Cheering when they get hurt? Going over to their house to tell them off?

Those things are not and should never be part of the deal and if you just looked at the players for one second as real people, or imagined your son or nephew or neighbor or whomever making it to the NFL one day like you hope they do, my guess is you would never consider doing either of those reprehensible acts that clearly cross the line.