This is an article that will generate massive waves of controversy, but the truth still stands, the NBA and NFL are thug leagues with a toxic culture. I hear lots of people complain about baseball and hockey, saying that the games are boring and long with extended periods of no action. While this is partially true, I find the issue to be much more rooted and deep. It’s boring because they aren’t thug leagues, plain and simple.
What is a thug league? It’s a league that is centered around egocentric, selfish, drama divas who have little or no regard for their teammates. It’s a league that generates more headlines for on and off the field distractions instead of the games played on the field, promoting a toxic culture of entitlement and selfishness in the process. These are the leagues that give athletes a bad name and smear their hard work.
Let’s take a look at the NFL first, a league consumed with controversy about on and off the field issues for years, with no end in sight to the turmoil. The most recent controversy is about the national anthem protests, which were allegedly to bring light to social issues involving minorities in the United States. I won’t get into this issue, as it would require a separate article to cover all the issues with it.
Since last July, there have been 35 players arrested for a variety of different charges, with most of them involving violence or drugs. Total, there have been 899 arrests involving NFL players since 2000, equalling 899 off the field distractions for the league in 18 years, not including anything else that could be brought up. That is certainly a league that isn’t promoting role models within the public eye and is instead consumed with legal problems that are at astronomical numbers for a sports league.
Drama divas are also a thing in the NFL, with a handful of holdouts entering offseason workouts every single year, in addition to the ones who cannot quit being distractions in the locker room or off the field like Terrell Owens. In a simple search, I found at least five lists that detailed the “top holdouts” for a particular season, with most of the names being well known around the league. Heck, there is even a list of the top drama divas in NFL history made by the NFL Network. Drama divas rarely exist in the NHL and MLB, probably because they wouldn’t last in a sport that values team over anything else.
The NBA is no better, with their own fair share of drama, but arrests aren’t as massive as the NFL. Since 2000, there have been 216 NBA players arrested, only 24% of the total from the NFL in the same span. Granted that’s still a lot of players, but I guess that’s the golden standard. The NBA has a larger problem with player drama in both gameplay and locker rooms, with LeBron James being the prime example.
This guy is extremely talented and the best player on the planet, but he has major baggage that comes along with his talent. In 2016, he had a hand in getting then Head Coach David Blatt fired. He regularly calls out his teammates publicly for their perceived lack of effort, hosts ESPN specials just to announce his free agency decision, and literally shifts the entire league from one conference to the other simply because he left for Los Angeles.
The NBA is no longer competitive, with the finals coming down to someone vs LeBron for the past eight years. The Warriors just signed Demarcus Cousins to a veterans exception contract, one that won’t even count against their cap, in addition to the handful of star players they already had on the roster prior. The Celtics will run the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future, with the Lakers or Warriors meeting them there barring a barrage of injuries to any of the three teams.
There are always players picking fights with one another, talking trash through the media and on the court, but no actual problem solving occurs. In the NHL, MLB, and even NASCAR, if you have a problem with someone, you fight it out like men and you both go home after you brush off. Most issues are solved after the fighting is finished, with the exception of lifelong rivals like the Yankees/Red Sox and Cardinals/Cubs. Raising your arms out like, “Come hit me bro” doesn’t make you tough or manly, it makes you look like a bunch of bickering children. If you want to fight, then fight!
These reasons and others are the reasons why I grew up and realized how disgraceful both of these leagues are to sports everywhere. Quit being a bunch of entitled brats who can’t stay out of handcuffs, and start being role models for the children and teenagers who idolize you. Life isn’t about you, so quit being selfish brats and be real men!
