NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The NFL world came to a standstill on January 2, 2023, when Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills suffered a cardiac arrest on the field while playing against the Cincinnati Bengals. This was not a normal injury and the reactions from commentators, players, fans, and analysts proved how great humanity can be. Then we were introduced to the business side of it all.
While this may trigger some folks, it’s also a topic that must be discussed in NFL circles. While Hamlins’ health is the top priority, the NFL is still a business that will exploit humanity.
The discussion began that same night when Skip Bayless tweeted out his now-infamous tweet.
No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 3, 2023
Was Bayless wrong? Yes and no. I had to read this tweet a few times to understand where he was going with this and while he wasn’t wrong, it was just bad timing. In this tweet and those before it, Bayless showed his compassionate side. But he’s also showing what that business side of humanity and the NFL looks like. And that right there is what people had trouble digesting when it was happening live. Bayless tweeted what countless others were thinking but the humanity side knew it was just too early to speak on it.
The NFL is a business much like your regular 9-5. If you get sick or pass away, does the company you work for close down for good? The owner may take a day or so but they must get back to the business at some point. Skip’s timing was way off. At his position and with the platform he has, he has to know he could’ve done better. However, on the other side of the coin, Bayless’ tweet was needed.
The NFL Is Still A Business
It was needed to show that there are two sides to every coin. While his co-host Shannon Sharpe offers a different opinion and approach, the world needs a person like Bayless. Change cannot be made if we’re not willing to do the work and confront those with different views on life as we do. Everyone does not share the same viewpoint on life as the next person. There will always be a divide in this world. But if we can’t sit and talk about it, then no change will ever happen.
The incident happened Monday night, and by Tuesday afternoon, the talk of what to do about the game that was suspended and when will they make the game up began to take place. That is the business side of it all. No one wants to see Hamlin, his family, or the Bills in pain, but we all know what’s at stake. The NFL is a brotherhood and while the humanity side should be above the game, we also know that the NFL is not going to suspend the rest of the season. They are a business.
There were reports that the game would resume after the teams had a 5-minute warm-up session but that was deemed to be false. Look at the fans in the stands. If that was all about his health, once Hamlin was taken off the field, why didn’t the fans vacate the stadium? As stunned as they were and praying for the fallen player, they were waiting for the game to resume much like the people at home. But no one was willing to say that. We just stayed tuned waiting for the official word.
If the game had resumed, who in all honesty would have changed the channel? It’s a tough call and one that NFL players and fans are used to. We’re programmed to see players go down, get taken off the field, and continue to watch. But this was different. We’ve never seen this before.
As a betting man, I watched as those who placed bets were angry and questioning what Sportsbooks like Fanduel and DraftKings were going to do with their Parlays. Would they void them out or would they just refund the money? The same goes for those in fantasy leagues with playoffs and some championships on the line. Once again, their hearts went out to Hamlin but that is what the business side looks like.
What Skip tweeted is precisely what everyone was talking about the very next day. Not his words per se but the implications of suspending that game and what it means for Week 18 and the playoffs. Skip was right but he was also wrong. Humanity and the business of the NFL are like oil and water. They don’t mix.
