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I abruptly stopped being a football fan last November. The immediate reason was Bill Belichick staking his own reputation on Donald Trump's assaults on the med

I abruptly stopped being a football fan last November. The immediate reason was Bill Belichick staking his own reputation on Donald Trump's assaults on the media, in a close state in a close election. But CTE was making it hard to remain a football fan anyway.

macintux 9y ago
Yeah, I stopped watching/following the game years back when I thought Austin Collie was never going to get up after yet another collision. I don't want to see someone die on the field, and I certainly don't want to contribute to it happening.
troisx 9y ago
So players killing people, players beating their wives and kids, and players breaking the law constantly didn't make you stop being a fan. But one coach exercising his political rights did. Fascinating.
- ApolloFortyNine 9y ago
  Politics is the new religion, at least in America right now.
- nickpeterson 9y ago
  To be fair, there are a lot of people in the NFL, and all of them are usually 20-40 year old men. The fact that some of them get convicted of crimes does not surprise me. It may be shocking if the percentage of criminals in the NFL was much higher than non-professional athletes I guess?
- ovulator 9y ago
  I mean, he could have just started rooting for the Jets.
- CurtMonash 9y ago
  Bill Belichick didn't just exercise his First Amendment rights to nexpress an opinion I disagreed with. That alone is hardly a problem for me; for example, Danny Ainge's political views have no impact on my Celtics fandom). Belichick went further, however -- he supported a pack of lies meant to undermine the value of First Amendment rights anywhere. And we've seen subsequently just how destructive lying attacks on the press can be. Anybody who, while knowing better, spreads those lies is damaging our country. I do not want them to succeed; hence I do not want them to have the kind of success that strengthens their reputations.

macintux 9y ago

Yeah, I stopped watching/following the game years back when I thought Austin Collie was never going to get up after yet another collision. I don't want to see someone die on the field, and I certainly don't want to contribute to it happening.

troisx 9y ago

So players killing people, players beating their wives and kids, and players breaking the law constantly didn't make you stop being a fan. But one coach exercising his political rights did. Fascinating.

ApolloFortyNine 9y ago
Politics is the new religion, at least in America right now.
nickpeterson 9y ago
To be fair, there are a lot of people in the NFL, and all of them are usually 20-40 year old men. The fact that some of them get convicted of crimes does not surprise me. It may be shocking if the percentage of criminals in the NFL was much higher than non-professional athletes I guess?
ovulator 9y ago
I mean, he could have just started rooting for the Jets.
CurtMonash 9y ago
Bill Belichick didn't just exercise his First Amendment rights to nexpress an opinion I disagreed with. That alone is hardly a problem for me; for example, Danny Ainge's political views have no impact on my Celtics fandom). Belichick went further, however -- he supported a pack of lies meant to undermine the value of First Amendment rights anywhere. And we've seen subsequently just how destructive lying attacks on the press can be. Anybody who, while knowing better, spreads those lies is damaging our country. I do not want them to succeed; hence I do not want them to have the kind of success that strengthens their reputations.