Dark cloud overshadows good in NFL

WCPO.com

The National Football League is one of the most powerful corporations in the world. In the past few weeks, it’s also been one of the most scrutinized.

Ray Rice slugged his wife. Adrian Peterson whipped his son with a switch. Jonathan Dwyer hit his wife and child. Greg Hardy is accused of physically assaulting and threatening to kill a woman.

Ray McDonald was arrested over the summer for domestic violence.

And not only has commissioner Roger Goodell doled out empty, weightless punishments, he’s also been accused of covering up crucial evidence—in this case, a video—in the Rice scandal.

Some league, huh?

Actually…yes.

The actions of the guys on the aforementioned list are terrible and warrant harsh punishments. Harsh.

But to condemn the entire NFL is wrong.

Have you ever heard of something called Blue Tuesdays? Probably not.

Every Tuesday—every single, solitary Tuesday—Seattle Children’s Hospital opens its doors to one of the best quarterbacks in the entire league, Russell Wilson. The 25-year-old Super Bowl champion has been visiting with children and families at the hospital since he was drafted by Seattle in 2012.

“I think that to be able to try to find a way to change people’s lives and to be there for them and give them a boost is really important to me,” Wilson told The Star-Ledger last year. “They don’t realize how much they’ve affected me. ... I’m not sure how many kids I’ve met, but I’ve met over hundreds and hundreds of kids. Every single time I see a kid smile, it really just opens up my heart and means a lot to me.”

Wilson isn’t the only one. Washington Redskins’ quarterback Robert Griffin III (RG3), an active partner with foundations including Make-a-Wish, did something special this summer, too.

In late May, RG3 made an appearance at a high school lacrosse game to help a girl named Morgan ask her friend Juwaan, a passionate Redskins fan who suffers from cerebral palsy, to their prom.

Wilson and Griffin aren’t alone. Are there some real lowlifes in the league? Absolutely. But there are a ton of genuinely good guys in the NFL, too.

Just ask anyone at the Seattle Children’s Hospital. Or Juwaan. Or any of the kids and families whose lives have been touched by an NFL star like Wilson or Griffin

Thankfully, Wilson and Griffin aren’t alone in their off-the-field heroics.

Because right now, the league needs guys like them more than ever.