Mendenhall backs Peterson's 'slave' comment

[thumper]

Yea, Rasheed, it's exactly like the slave trade except these guys remain
completely free - free to do anything within the laws, and, slaves were
forced to work for free and these guys make more than 99% of the
rest of us. But other than that, it's _just_ like trading slaves

[jwmann2]

Slave trading wasn't a billion dollar industry and was inhumane. Not the same.

[ricardisimo]

Originally Posted by TRH

Thats true, i agree......and without civilian employees, there'd be no regular companies too.
The media has taken to portraying owners as greedy millionaires and the players as poor, badly-treated, employees barely living above poverty. Like i said, they're free, instead, to use their business degrees (that they probably didn't earn...) to enter the business world.
The fact is they're both greedy. A football player makes a few million and can't save and be responsible for his money after a few years? Poor baby? Uh......NO. Thats the argument i hear a lot. Remember....a civilian who makes 50K per year takes 20 years to make a million dollars while paying heavy health insurances. So we're supposed to "feel bad" that they 'only' made a few million (except the huge major stars like Ben, Brady, etc...) and it's gone or almost gone? The media has milked that one to death.

It's unfortunate and sad to see this thing right before our eyes heading directly to what MLB has become. Owners no one likes, players no one likes....
We can sit here all day and lay blame on both sides, but a 3rd side never mentioned is player agents. Thats the real destructive force and they've almost singlehandedly ruined and taken the "sport" and the "game" out of the game. To get back to thread topic, i have lost a good chunk of respect for Mendenhall. How dare he say that.

I'm curious to see what media you have been watching that has portrayed the players as "poor, badly-treated, employees barely living above poverty." Shoot us some links, because I haven't seen it or read it anywhere.

Moreover, no one here in this thread - not I, nor Harts, nor Peterson nor Mendenhall - have suggested any such thing. What this thread has degenerated into is a bunch of (probably) white guys who have become shocked - shocked, I say! - and offended by a vague parallel having been drawn between today's NFL players and the slaves of 150 years ago.

You people need to get over yourselves. People are allowed to call George Bush or Barack Obama a Nazi, even though neither one of them is technically affiliated with the Nazi Party and haven't started rounding up the Jews. I'm allowed to talk about how hellish it is here in Southern California in August and September, even though I'm not actually living in Hades. Metaphors. Similes. Comparison and contrast. Look them up.

A point was being made about the lack of control in one's own workplace, a point which Mendenhall could understand and which Tomlin went out of his way to support (albeit in a qualified manner.) Tomlin and Mendehall are not stupid people, and they both strike me as fellows who measure their words pretty carefully. Not to mention that many people much more learned than them have made similar use of slavery in dozens of other fields and types of economies. Get used to it and get over it.

[SteelerEmpire]

You just have to have a little sensitivity to African Americans and ANYTHING relating to the slave trade. Several upon several of generations of African Americans were decimated as a result of this practice by the "official" position of slavery of the United States of American government... not just it's civilians.
The USA cannot run from it's history just as much as Germany cannot from it's positions upon it's Jewish citizens... Neither country cannot change it's past, but it "can" say what it's future will be...

Originally Posted by ricardisimo

You people need to get over yourselves.

It's kinda hard when we're right.

Originally Posted by ricardisimo

A point was being made about the lack of control in one's own workplace

I don't know about you, ric, but I don't have much control in my workplace either. I'm told what time I have to be there, what time I can eat, when I can go home, how much I'm going to get paid, what days and hours I have to work ...

And I assure you it's nothing even remotely close to slavery. I wouldn't even think about comparing it to slavery, even if it was just a simile, metaphor, analogy, whatever.

Originally Posted by ricardisimo

Get used to it and get over it.

I think it's Peterson and Mendy who need to get over it.

[ricardisimo]

And Chrissie Hynde sings about being on a chain gang, despite being a millionaire several times over herself. No matter. It's still a great song. As far as your work being even more apropos for the slavery analogy, great. Make the analogy... or don't. It's up to you, just like it's up to Peterson.

I doubt very much that an alum of the Night Owls is really losing any sleep over any offense taken by AP's comment.

[ricardisimo]

Originally Posted by SteelerEmpire

You just have to have a little sensitivity to African Americans and ANYTHING relating to the slave trade. Several upon several of generations of African Americans were decimated as a result of this practice by the "official" position of slavery of the United States of American government... not just it's civilians.
The USA cannot run from it's history just as much as Germany cannot from it's positions upon it's Jewish citizens... Neither country cannot change it's past, but it "can" say what it's future will be...

I'm not about to lecture African-Americans about how they are or are not to use slavery in their everyday speech. I wouldn't presume.

Originally Posted by ricardisimo

I doubt very much that an alum of the Night Owls is really losing any sleep over any offense taken by AP's comment.

You win.

[harts]

Freewill
So what
Yo guys act like I am making this up 2 NFL players (on record) said this
They know the NFL system
YOU DON'T

These "parallels to slavery" is the one of the main reasons why we are having this "labor" dispute going on because the players see what's going on and finally have a NFLPA leader who will do something about it and not be in the owners pocket as Upshaw was.

Plus they want their fair share of the MONEY!

Did you see Parcells the other night on his draft special (great insight by the way) and how he described players - how they were graded on physical attributes etc.
He basically was talking about them like they were racehorses

I know he needs to do it because that's what football requires

But the way he was talking about the players parallels the similar discussions they had about slaves
And mind you I am sure he toned down his talk for TV


I am just stating what I see
Just Like Mendy and Adrian stated what they see

The question was does the NFL have parallels to Slavery not is the NFL slavery
In an objective comparison the parallels are numerous
Therefore the answer is:
Yes

Simple logic
Freewill is irrelevant really to the topic - the process is the process

Originally Posted by harts

Freewill
So what
Yo guys act like I am making this up 2 NFL players (on record) said this
They know the NFL system
YOU DON'T

These "parallels to slavery" is the one of the main reasons why we are having this "labor" dispute going on because the players see what's going on and finally have a NFLPA leader who will do something about it and not be in the owners pocket as Upshaw was.

Plus they want their fair share of the MONEY!

Did you see Parcells the other night on his draft special (great insight by the way) and how he described players - how they were graded on physical attributes etc.
He basically was talking about them like they were racehorses

I know he needs to do it because that's what football requires

But the way he was talking about the players parallels the similar discussions they had about slaves
And mind you I am sure he toned down his talk for TV


I am just stating what I see
Just Like Mendy and Adrian stated what they see

The question was does the NFL have parallels to Slavery not is the NFL slavery
In an objective comparison the parallels are numerous
Therefore the answer is:
Yes

Simple logic
Freewill is irrelevant really to the topic - the process is the process

I believe there's not much more we can add to this debate.