Written by A couple days ago some shocking news was delivered to us by the NFL. Las Vegas wide receiver Henry Ruggs III had been traveling 156 mph near a residential area where he hit and killed Tina Tintor and her dog. The Raiders were quick to drop Ruggs, but Tina’s life will never be brought back. The sad part about this was that the Raiders and the NFL organization stated that they had teamed up with rideshare services so that players could get home safely without worrying about these types of events happening. So what really caused this? Could this have been avoided?
The answers to these questions are unclear, but we do know that Ruggs was under the influence while also having a loaded firearm in his car. In any sort of professional sports setting where athletes are receiving money and fame there is bound to be irresponsible behavior. Using your status or money to bypass certain laws and restrictions is not uncommon for high status players to do, but this is completely different. The culture of athlete stardom promotes a sort of “invincible, untouchable” atmosphere where the players are so carefully protected and taken care of it can translate to feelings of immunity from certain things. This toxic culture of abusing power and status is nothing new to the Raiders as well. A couple of weeks ago there were scandals involving homophobic and misogynistic comments made by their head coach Jon Gruden in some emails he had sent out, believing they were private.
When instances like these happen, change needs to happen. It seems like partnering up with rideshare services is clearly not enough to stop players from drinking and driving. The NFL and its huge following grant players opportunities most people won’t see in a lifetime, but if these opportunities are just thrown away, along with innocent lives, then something needs to happen.
Alternative suggestions to help reduce these types of events are hard to come by, and even when put in place there is still no preventing these accidents. What needs to change is the atmosphere surrounding these stars and how they are perceived. Asking people to change their outlook towards something is never really a good idea, but we can start by treating them like any other person. When the high of fame starts to settle down, and athletes and other stars are looked at the same way as everybody else, the abuse of power and status will slowly start to dissipate. Protecting the athletes is the #1 priority, but if they feel like they are untouchable, especially driving at 156 mph, something is wrong in their approach to life outside their profession. This starts at the highest, and lowest, end of the totem pole. Coaches and staff at the top should consider providing safety and life skills classes to their players, and fans should be more aware of how treating an athlete like a deity can produce an “untouchable” feeling the player receives, where they think that they are exempt from accidents and wrong doings.