Mendenhall backs Peterson's 'slave' comment

[Riddle_Of_Steel]

Originally Posted by SCMom

I'm not jealous of Mendy...ok, maybe a little, because I'd love to have that kind of money handed to me. But he is talented and he did work hard to get where he is today. I can respect that.

Saying what is happening parallels slavery though? Come on. Kirklandrules described it perfectly by saying that the comparison is extremely weak and that pretty much anyone who's ever had a job could make the same parallels (i.e. being "put up on the chopping block" when being evaluated for a job and during your job, bosses and owners making more than you do). That's about where the similarities end though.

I don't know what "big words" he would plan on using to justify making the comparison, but they wouldn't matter IMO. It was an ignorant, delusional thing to say. It'd be an ignorant, delusional thing for any normal American worker to say.



Of course not. But would you ever compare the situation you described as being parallel to slavery? To me, that just makes people feel even less sorry for you, no matter what amount of money you make.

I definitely hear what you are saying, SCMOM. Mendy & Peterson should have used some different terminology.....clearly, "slavery" was not the correct term of their situation. The whole "big words you wouldn't understand" did not help him out either....chances are, a large majority of us are a HECK OF A LOT brighter than the average NFL football player....

[PhantomJB93]

C'mon man

[TRH]

wow. unbelievable.
These guys have no idea what slavery was.

The more these ***holes talk....the more and more i'm siding with the owners.

[Steelthe#1dynasty]

Originally Posted by TRH

The more these ***holes talk....the more and more i'm siding with the owners.

My thoughts exactly! This piece of sh** should shut his god damn mouth! Also, great players show up for big games. He'll never be as great as Franco and the rest of the 70's gang. I think I've had about enough of these entitled people.

As far as Mendy is concerned, the sooner he is off of our roster the better! I don't want to hear comments from these over-paid pricks when millions can't make a decent living in this country. I am fortune that I am currently employed with a decent paying job. I feel for my fellow Americans. Many of my good friends and family members are without jobs these days. I am sure many of you can share similar stories.

[mesaSteeler]

Originally Posted by TRH

wow. unbelievable.
These guys have no idea what slavery was.

The more these ***holes talk....the more and more i'm siding with the owners.

I completely agree with you. I always knew that most NFL players were not all that bright but this slavery BS comment confirms it. This level of stupidity among the players does not bode well for this to be resolved quickly.

[mesaSteeler]

Peterson plays the slave card
Cold, Hard Football Facts for March 17, 2011
http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com...lave_card.html

Pigskin Detention is traditionally reserved for misguided pigskin “pundits” who attempt to analyze football without the deadly accurate Cold, Hard Football Facts in their arsenal.

But today we induct a player: Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. You might have heard that Peterson said Tuesday of the NFL labor dispute: “It’s modern-day slavery, you know?”

Apparently, Peterson was not a history major at the University of Oklahoma.

His comments have already produced a huge backlash. So we're not going to pile on. Instead, here in Pigskin Detention, we like to highlight the absurd to embarrass the stupid and the misguided.

You know, people like Peterson or, in years past, like Warren Sapp, who have broken out “the slavery card” during disputes with management. Apparently, they confuse being young, famous and filthy rich with being an anonymous piece of human chattel.

Gee, and some people think our education system is broken.

So, to help with the education process, here’s a little summary of the difference between the life of a modern football player who has had everything handed to him merely by virtue of athletic talent, in this case Peterson, and the life of a slave, in this case Nat Turner. Both, you might say, had disputes with management.

CLAIM to FAME
Adrian Peterson: Ran for 1,925 yards as a freshman at Oklahoma in 2004 and was NFL offensive rookie of the year in 2007.

Nat Turner: Led slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831 that helped change the course of American history.

OCCUPATION
Adrian Peterson: Pro football player. Paid to play a boy's game 16 times each year in front of 75,000 screaming fans.

Nat Turner: Field hand. Not paid to pick tobacco every day except Sunday in front of a whip-wielding slave master.

EDUCATION
Adrian Peterson: Attended a major American university on the public dole, simply by virtue of his athletic talent.

Nat Turner: Taught himself how to read the Bible in a crude slave hut.

SALARY
Adrian Peterson: Makes about $7 million per year.

Nat Turner: Was fed gruel each day.

NICKNAME
Adrian Peterson: Purple Jesus, because he plays for a team whose colors are purple.

Nat Turner: The Prophet, because he had Biblical visions of freedom for slaves.

RESIDENCE
Adrian Peterson: Resides in a palatial suburban home in tony Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with a bathroom for every day of the week.

Nat Turner: Resided in a sparse wood hut with no air conditioning or plumbing.

WAS FOUND
Adrian Peterson: Setting records as a schoolboy in Palestine, Texas.

Nat Turner: Hiding in a dirt hole like Saddam Hussein in Jerusalem, Virginia.

FACT THEIR FANS WOULD LIKE TO FORGET
Adrian Peterson: Ran 20 times for just 77 yards as mighty Oklahoma laid an egg against Boise State in the great 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Nat Turner: Killed women and children during his uprising.

GRAVE INJUSTICE
Adrian Peterson: Was locked out of the Vikings' luxurious headquarters.

Nat Turner: Was whipped, beheaded, drawn and quartered. Ouch.

LIFE in PRINT
Adrian Peterson: His story was chronicled in “Adrian Peterson, Superstars of Pro Football Series” by Stephen Currie. It was read by a bunch of 12-year-old boys in Minnesota.

Nat Turner: His story was reprised in “The Confessions of Nat Turner” by William Stryon. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1968.

LEGACY
Adrian Peterson: His performances may make him the best running back in Vikings history.

Nat Turner: His failed rebellion sparked a violent backlash, executions and a reactionary crackdown against the rights of freed blacks and proved a major setback for the growing anti-slavery movement of the 1820s and 1830s.

But, you know, other than that, not much difference between playing in the NFL and being a slave.

[SCMom]

There's too many big words in that article.

[ricardisimo]

Originally Posted by kirklandrules

Maybe they should have drawn a parallel between football players and gladiators.

The gladiators were slaves, last I checked. Keep reading your history, and you'll find a lot of exceptionally smart people making this same connection. As the source of all truth and light states:

Similarities between wage labor and slavery were noted at least as early as Cicero. [10] A line in the original "Star-Spangled Banner" groups "hirelings" together with slaves. [11] Before the American Civil War, Southern defenders of African American slavery invoked the concept to favorably compare the condition of their slaves to workers in the North.

And eventually, as I said earlier, the connection is made between "outright" slavery and any condition where one has little or no control over one's work, working conditions or product. That's demeaning, no matter how much money one is making.

There's a reason why studies have shown over and over again that managers almost always choose more power over higher earnings or greater efficiency. Workers don't tend to have that choice, though.

[dsr]

A slave who decided to leave his (or her) job would be killed. Petersen is free to walk away right now, and there's not a blind thing the NFL or the Vikings could do about it.

OK, he wouldn't get his many millions of dollars, but not being able to receive many millions of dollars in not in any respect a definition of slavery.

[Steeldude]

so mendenhall is as equally moronic as peterson.

isn't this insulting to people who actually were slaves?