Rashard Mendenhall: Behaving like a shock jock
As I’ve stated before, and let me be clear again – I am an advocate of free speech. It is a fundamental right and is part of our bill or rights in this country. It is a right that, as someone who participates in blogging and other social media, I hold very highly. With that said, let me continue….
It is a very well known line whether you are a Marvel geek, casual fan or seen it used in some spoof within another program. Peter Parker’s (aka Spiderman’s) Uncle Ben says in a lecture to Pete, “Remember, with great power. comes great responsibility.” And although this line has been used so many times it carries a certain level of passe, I think it really hits home to your favorite Twitter man and mine, Rashard Mendenhall.
Over the course of the CBA negotiations and lockout, the NFLPA argued that it would not agree to any parts of a CBA unless the NFL owners opened up their financial books. The argument was that an employee has a right to see the financial status of their employer. If that is the case, then shouldn’t players be subjected to the other side of that and comply within the policies and standards of what the employer requires? An employee of a company represents that company during working hours and, most employers would argue, during off times as well. A player in the NFL represents his team, teammates and the league at all times. It’s why the league created a personal conduct code. The off-season or simply being off the football field does not mean you are not a part of the team anymore and not accountable for your actions – including what you say.
If one of you or I were to say something as shock provoking as Mendenhall’s Monday tweets, and our employer read these on our Facebook or Twitter pages, wouldn’t we be subjected to disciplinary action? This is the very thing that gets people fired or passed by when seeking employment. Why should an athlete be any different? Must they get a disciplinary pass on every wrong or every boneheaded decision they make?
Social media has run rampant over the past few years with athletes. It is cocaine for the narcissist within them all. In a sport where team play overshadows the individual, football players are doing what they can to get themselves noticed. And the league isn’t helping the issue – penalizing touchdown celebrations anyone? Because stats and achievements aren’t enough on the field actions to collect a following, football players and other athletes have taken to social media to gather the largest internet entourage. So what happens if no one is listening anymore? Well, say something that gets someone’s attention.
Shock jock is a slang term used for radio broadcasters who either use offensive humor or other comments in order to elicit a reaction from their listeners and to gain listeners (one could use this term for anyone in the media who does this, really). We know some of the bigger players out there – Rush, Stern, Beck, and Shultz to name some. They’ve all said and continue to say some pretty crazy things with their social, political and world view opinions. But it sure gets people’s attention, and it sure gets them a ton of listeners. I feel like Mendenhall is disingenuous when he said earlier on Wednesday in an apology that “it was only meant to encourage anyone reading it to think.” Going from 13,000 followers to over 30,000 in 24 hours says otherwise. I doubt those newbies decided to follow you, Rashard, for instilling in them a desire to contemplate the wrongs of the world. They are just waiting for the next round of doozies from you – perhaps you’ll argue that the moon is made of cheese. Your actions embody that of a shock jock.