NFL able to shield itself from criticism, By: Dan Bickley

September 6, 2006, The Arizona Republic

The NFL's logo is a shield. Nothing could be more perfect.

It is a league where fans wear blinders, where players hide under helmets, where the product remains untouched by criticisms that plague other sports.

In the NFL, problems just bounce off that shield. And here on the brink of another season, fans have their eyes wide shut all over again.

"I think the NFL is getting a free ride," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said.

No doubt about that, and pity Bud Selig. The commissioner of Major League Baseball has seen his sport severely damaged by the steroids era, where suspicions of rampant drug use and tainted records have ruined the mood. Nowadays, a player like the Phillies' Ryan Howard can no longer have a jaw-dropping season without a nation rolling its eyeballs.

C'mon, 53 home runs by Labor Day? Somebody better check his fluid levels.

Meanwhile, no one cares that members of the Panthers allegedly were using steroids in the days leading up to their appearance in the Super Bowl. Or that former Saints said coach Jim Haslett said those great Steelers teams in the 1970s were fueled by performance-enhancing drugs.

But if that were the Yankees, you'd want Selig's head on a skewer.

And how about NBA Commissioner David Stern? His league is frequently branded by the lawless actions of the minority. Anytime one of his players ends up in the police blotter, the NBA is stamped as a thug league all over again.

Meanwhile, football players are providing alcohol to minors, taking illegal substances, burglarizing teammates and getting charged with domestic violence. And that's just the Cincinnati Bengals.

Funny, but there doesn't seem to be any congressional movement to make NFL players better role models.

In fact, there seems to be more general concern about performance-enhancing agents invading the PGA Tour than what may be filling the underbelly of the NFL.

"They've got a great PR machine," McCain said. "When Gene Upshaw and (Paul) Tagliabue testified, they were very convincing . . . and so I think they're getting off more lightly than perhaps they should."

The cause of this selective morality is baffling. Or maybe it's not.

The NFL is built on the foundation of vice. Take away all forms of alcohol and gambling, and European football might be more popular in this country. Simply put, we give the NFL more rope because the NFL seems to validate some of our worst habits.

But more than anything, it's the genius of the league that keeps all demons outside the front gate. The focus is always on the teams, and never on the players. All forms of individuality are strongly discouraged. Shirts must be tucked in. Socks may only be of certain length. And anytime a player takes off his helmet on the field, thereby revealing his face, it is a 15-yard penalty.

This homogenization of talent, this blurring of the picture, serves the NFL well. With all the focus on the jersey, the body inside becomes somewhat irrelevant. Players become creatures of our own entertainment, and not real people that may be killing themselves to play inside a violent league.

Then there are the twin pillars of the NFL's success: With institutionalized parity and prolonged labor peace, fans always know that another season is coming without interruption, and that their team may actually win the Super Bowl next time around.

With that kind of hope in the air, it's easy to overlook the felons and the muscle-bound freaks. After all, are you not entertained?