The Voice of Lee Schwartz, father of two former NFL studs, Geoffrey and Mitchell Schwartz, author of Raising Giants and member of Concussion & CTE Foundation’s West Coast Advisory Board . . .
HYPOCRISY? I THINK SO.
Here are the indisputable facts . . .
- Beer commercials are aired during NFL telecasts.
- Beer ads are prevalent throughout NFL stadiums.
- Beer is sold in all NFL stadiums.
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On a recent Sunday afternoon San Francisco 49er fullback Kyle “The Juice” Juszczyk is seen celebrating the 27th touchdown of his nine-plus season career. His end zone celebration included a gesture that he’s apparently exhibited for years, the gesture resembling taking a drink from a bottle.
The next day Juszczyk received word that he had been fined $14,926 by the NFL for “engaging in offensive demonstrations.” According to the league, “The Juice” violated one of their rules for “imitation of chugging a beer.” The NFL went on to say that “players are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects positively on the game and is consistent with NFL standard of sportsmanship.” This is all appalling. What does the gesture have to do with sportsmanship?
I decided to let AI clear the air for me.
AI explains that the gesture of extending a thumb towards one’s mouth, the pinky extended with the three middle fingers tucked in is widely used to signify the drinking of alcohol. OK. However, when the thumb is pointed to the mouth and all other fingers are fully extended, the meaning changes to be an almost universal generic symbol for drinking water or juice. Aha.
Here’s a snapshot of Juszczyk’s gesture . . .
Fingers tucked? Fingers extended? I vote for the latter. How about you?
Responding to this nonsense, Juszczyk said he has celebrated this way for years, never before being fined for this action, and that he’s drinking his “juice,” consistent with his nickname. And the topper. He declares that he doesn’t even drink beer.
Juszczyk has already appealed the fine. In my opinion, the only appropriate conclusion by the NFL is to completely rescind the fine. Not a partial adjustment. The entire $14,926.
But the bigger picture to me is the duplicity of the NFL’s actions. The league fills their bank accounts by accepting hundreds of millions of dollars from the alcohol industry.
- The alcohol industry spends roughly $685 million per year specifically on TV commercials during NFL broadcasts.
- Anheuser-Busch pays the league an estimated $250M as the NFL’s single largest beer advertiser.
- Local alcohol related sponsorships add ~$205M to the coffers of the 32 teams.
- Roughly $300-400M per season are pulled in annually by NFL teams for stadium sales.
This is eye-opening.
You’re welcome to do the math. By any measure, it’s perfectly acceptable for the NFL to benefit from all things related to alcohol consumption but when one of their own . . . and one who doesn’t consume suds . . . has a 10 second demonstration suggesting beer consumption, that player’s pocketbook is lightened. And what if Juszczyk does enjoy an occasional beer or two? Doesn’t change the calculus in my opinion.
Hypocrisy? Without a doubt.
I used to think I was indecisive. Now I’m not too sure.