I was watching the highlights of the Colts-Texans game (sidenote: Andrew Luck and JJ Watt. Holy shitaake mushrooms), and I noticed that most of the football players had on something pink - for breast cancer awareness. Which is great! Breast cancer is the second most common cancer that women have (after skin cancer), and is the second most common cancer that women also die from (after lung cancer). It's great that the NFL is spreading awareness to this disease that affects so many women.
Until you realize that this may just be a marketing ploy. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the NFL is using its player to simply show that they support this initiative, that they support women in their fight against this cancer. But that's the only fight that NFL supports women in. In any other fight - women are on their own. Charges of domestic violence? Well, you'll only get kicked off a team if a video emerges of you doing it (looking at you, Ray Rice). You're a cheerleader who wants the money she deserves for her work? Oops. Outta luck (Raiders, this shout out is for you). You're a reporter covering a football event? Careful, you might be the subject of catcalls and lewd gestures by naked men (Jets and Patriots, you guys are similar in this regard). The NFL only seems to care about women when there is marketing money at stake or when the issue is one that's popular and already in the media - like Breast Cancer Awareness month. Otherwise, they just try and sweep it under the rug.
Maybe I'm being too harsh. After all, its possible that the NFL actually does care. But I don't think so. I think they're trying to repair their reputation by doing the least possible - having their players wear pink sneakers rather than teach their players to respect women.
Until you realize that this may just be a marketing ploy. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the NFL is using its player to simply show that they support this initiative, that they support women in their fight against this cancer. But that's the only fight that NFL supports women in. In any other fight - women are on their own. Charges of domestic violence? Well, you'll only get kicked off a team if a video emerges of you doing it (looking at you, Ray Rice). You're a cheerleader who wants the money she deserves for her work? Oops. Outta luck (Raiders, this shout out is for you). You're a reporter covering a football event? Careful, you might be the subject of catcalls and lewd gestures by naked men (Jets and Patriots, you guys are similar in this regard). The NFL only seems to care about women when there is marketing money at stake or when the issue is one that's popular and already in the media - like Breast Cancer Awareness month. Otherwise, they just try and sweep it under the rug.
Maybe I'm being too harsh. After all, its possible that the NFL actually does care. But I don't think so. I think they're trying to repair their reputation by doing the least possible - having their players wear pink sneakers rather than teach their players to respect women.
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