Minnesota Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson has become a Twitter Trend, and is getting slammed in the process for comments he supposedly made on Yahoo!'s Shutdown Corner blog column. While blogs like The Huffington Post claim that Peterson said "It's modern-day slavery, you know? People kind of laugh at that.."
But where that appears in the actual Yahoo! blog post is not there. Instead, it reads:
The "modern-day slavery" comment is just not there anymore. In a search through the blog post, it only appears in the comments issued by readers below the blog post. Thus, while Adrian Peterson allegedly made that comment, it's clear he didn't mean for it to remain online. Instead he says "I don't know that I want to quote myself on that…"
Still, the damage was done. Comedian Chris Rock sent out the most retweeted Twitter Tweet, which popped up on Google Trends as a "top update" and which reads:
And NFL Running Back and Notre Dame star Ryan Grant weighed in with his disagreement, as have thousands of people on Twitter. (It's died down now; Adrian Peterson is not longer a Twitter Trend.)
But is Adrian correct? Well, I think it's an insult to the real slaves: college football players. The problem is the black college football player thinks that's the only road to financial success in the NFL. So they're willing to put up with being used at the college level, and the colleges are into helping them.
Once a player get to the NFL, the pay scale, endorsements, and guaranteed contracts take the "slavery" tag off the table. Just look at how former Oakland Raiders QB Jamarcus Russell made out with $29 million in guaranteed money, and is now out of football. A draft bust.
But beyond that, it's clear the NFL has a problem which could be solved by a comprehensive employee ownership program. In that concept, NFL Players would get to own a share of the NFL. Now I'm not quoting anyone's idea; it's mine. But it seems like something that should have been done a long time ago.
The Boxer's Poem
In my video talk with boxing legend Irish Pat Lawlor he got off a poem that's worth hearing. So here's the video:
Stay tuned.
But where that appears in the actual Yahoo! blog post is not there. Instead, it reads:
The owners are making so much money off of us to begin with. I don't know that I want to quote myself on that…
SC: It's nothing that I haven't heard from other players, believe me.
AP: People kind of laugh at that, but there are people working at regular jobs who get treated the same way, too. With all the money … the owners are trying to get a different percentage, and bring in more money. I understand that; these are business-minded people. Of course this is what they are going to want to do. I understand that; it's how they got to where they are now. But as players, we have to stand our ground and say, 'Hey — without us, there's no football.'
The "modern-day slavery" comment is just not there anymore. In a search through the blog post, it only appears in the comments issued by readers below the blog post. Thus, while Adrian Peterson allegedly made that comment, it's clear he didn't mean for it to remain online. Instead he says "I don't know that I want to quote myself on that…"
Still, the damage was done. Comedian Chris Rock sent out the most retweeted Twitter Tweet, which popped up on Google Trends as a "top update" and which reads:
@NotChrisRock Chris Rock
Adrian Peterson said the NFL is like modern-day slavery? Slaves got hit with whips & locked in chains. He just buys whips & lots of chains
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply
Twitter - 52 minutes ago
And NFL Running Back and Notre Dame star Ryan Grant weighed in with his disagreement, as have thousands of people on Twitter. (It's died down now; Adrian Peterson is not longer a Twitter Trend.)
But is Adrian correct? Well, I think it's an insult to the real slaves: college football players. The problem is the black college football player thinks that's the only road to financial success in the NFL. So they're willing to put up with being used at the college level, and the colleges are into helping them.
Once a player get to the NFL, the pay scale, endorsements, and guaranteed contracts take the "slavery" tag off the table. Just look at how former Oakland Raiders QB Jamarcus Russell made out with $29 million in guaranteed money, and is now out of football. A draft bust.
But beyond that, it's clear the NFL has a problem which could be solved by a comprehensive employee ownership program. In that concept, NFL Players would get to own a share of the NFL. Now I'm not quoting anyone's idea; it's mine. But it seems like something that should have been done a long time ago.
The Boxer's Poem
In my video talk with boxing legend Irish Pat Lawlor he got off a poem that's worth hearing. So here's the video:
Stay tuned.
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