NFL Fails to Hold Star Players Accountable to Their Actions

The men’s soccer team and staff pose on Fred Shults Field. Courtesy of Amanda Phillips

Chris Stoneman Senior Staff Writer

Men’s soccer had a tough road laid out for them last weekend. Facing Grove City College, Chatham University, and Bethany College all in rapid succession, the table was set for a massive triple-header for the Yeomen. Coming off of an initial two-game losing streak, everyone was wondering if the team could correct its course and get the season back on track.

The weekend started off well with Thursday’s game against Grove City. The Yeomen won 3–2 in a dominant defensive performance, marking their first win of the season. Second-year goalkeeper Colvin Iorio proved indispensable that afternoon, blocking a career high of 10 shots to secure the victory. Additionally, second-year scorers Xander Francoeur, Toby Wells-Zimmerman, and team captain Anthony Pacewicz were definite standouts of the game, delivering the team a great win.

“We still have a lot of work to do as a team, but I’m proud of the flashes of individual brilliance and moments of great team chemistry we’ve shown thus far,” Wells-Zimmerman said.

The team gained further momentum the following Saturday in their game against Chatham University in a dominant weekend performance. Defensively the team was sound, holding the Cougars to a single goal and maintaining ball control throughout all 90 minutes. First-year Louis Berger aided defense with his first career save. Offensively, captains Pacewicz and fourth-year Jon Schafer both went to work, scoring a goal each to win the game 2–1.

However, the winning streak ended the next day against Bethany. Though the Yeomen were hot coming into the game — with Pacewicz named NCAC player of the week for his stellar performance — the Bisons shut them out 2–0 in a difficult loss. Despite the scoreboard, the team did show a great amount of promise going forward. The Yeomen defense played well, with three saves and solid defensive play in the first half. In the offense, multiple Oberlin players had their chance to find the back of the net, but a sound Bethany defense shut them down.

“It hasn’t been the start we were looking for, but there are many positives to take from our first few games,” Pacewicz said. “We have a young group with a lot of talent which we are still trying to piece together. There is still [much] to learn as a team and as individuals, but I see it starting to come together. When it does, we will be very tough to beat.”

In spite of some losses, the Yeomen have shown a great deal of potential across their first five games. True to Pacewicz’s words, the team is sure to be a formidable conference mainstay once they iron out the kinks. In addition, Head Coach Blake New is looking forward to the team’s development throughout the season.

“I am excited for what this team can accomplish as long as the lessons we are learning become cemented into our team psyche,” New wrote in an email to the Review. “We have some big tests coming up, and I am eager to see how we respond.”

Zoe Kuzbari

Contributing Sports Editor

Walter Thomas-Patterson

Conservatory Editor

A new football season has arrived and with that, an acknowledgement that athletes face considerable scrutiny nowadays. Football, baseball, soccer, basketball — these sports and many others put their players on a pedestal, only for them to be torn down by millions of fans if they fail to match the hype.

This begs the question: if athletes live up to their expectations on the field, what immunity does this give them to stay accountable for off-thefield issues? For the NFL in particular, recent cases have illustrated that stardom affords you a relative level of immunity from accountability. What expectation do we hold professional athletes to when they commit acts that violate our conscience, and what does that reveal about the league and its fans?

Take Deshaun Watson, for example. A quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, he has been accused by 24 women — all of whom served as his personal massage therapists — of coercive sexual behavior during massage therapy sessions. The accusations include two allegations of sexual assault. These alleged instances took place while Watson was on the Houston Texans from March 2020–21. During this time, Watson met with 66 women over the course of 17 months for massages.

What makes Watson’s case especially interesting is what it reveals about the amount of behavioral leeway NFL stars, especially quarterbacks, are given in the league. They are typically viewed as the backbone of the team, the signal-caller, and the paragon of the franchise. Yet time and time again, NFL teams appear willing to look past history of sexual misconduct — including Saints quarterback Jameis Winston and recently retired Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger — if the player helps them win games.

How are fans supposed to cheer for their team and its quarterback knowing in the back of their heads that the team platformed players who allegedly did reprehensible things?

So far, Watson has settled or agreed to settle all but one of the remaining lawsuits, while the Texans administration has reached settlements with 30 women who claimed they would sue the NFL for enabling Watson’s actions.

As “punishment” for his alleged crimes, Watson and the NFL, along with the NFL Players Association, reached a settlement in his disciplinary matter where they agreed he would serve an 11-game suspension without pay and pay a fine of $5 million. He is also required to undergo mandatory evaluation by behavioral experts and follow a “rigorous” treatment program.

Although $5 million seems like a hefty fine, that’s only two percent of what Watson is guaranteed to be paid over the next five years. When the Browns signed Watson earlier this year, they had agreed to a fully guaranteed fiveyear contract of $230 million. This was the largest contract in the NFL — and it was agreed upon even after some allegations against Watson became public.

The message from this is clear: professional athletes can still participate in and profit from sports despite allegedly being sexual assailants. But where do we draw the line? Should Watson never be allowed to participate in the NFL again?

Co-owner of the Cleveland Browns Jimmy Haslam believes everyone should get a second chance in life.

“In this country, and hopefully in the world, people deserve second chances,” Haslam said to the NY Post. “Does he get no chance to rehabilitate himself? That’s what we’re gonna do.”

Well, Haslam should have added a qualifier to that statement; if an athlete helps a team win games and make money, then of course, they “deserve second chances.”

“You can say that’s because he’s a star quarterback,” Haslam said. “But if he was Joe Smith he wouldn’t be [in] the headlines everyday. We think people deserve a second chance. We gave Kareem Hunt a second chance and that’s worked out pretty well.”

This cycle, in which star athletes who have allegedly done bad things are rewarded with “second chances,” is one that the NFL knows all too well. Adrian Peterson was first indicted by a grand jury in 2014 on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child which occurred earlier that year. He was suspended for the rest of the 2014 season but then signed contracts in 2017 and 2018 and was able to elevate his career and record his eighth 1,000-yard season, tying for sixth-most of all-time. He is regarded as one of the greatest running backs in football history.

Another famous NFL player, Ray Rice, was caught on video punching his fiancée and knocking her out in an elevator in 2014. Due to public backlash after the video went viral, the NFL changed its policy regarding how it handles domestic violence cases. Somehow though, it feels as if nothing has changed.

Powerful men in the NFL have committed heinous crimes for decades. If they serve the team’s bottom line — to sell tickets and win games — they often face little to no consequence. Whether it’s Kareem Hunt, Ben Roethlisberger, or Jameis Winston, these athletes have been elevated to an elite status in the professional athletic hierarchy — they serve as idols for millions of fans. If the allegations against Deshaun Watson are true, then he fits into this list as well.

Fans who root passionately for any NFL team should carefully consider whether the star player and general culture they support reflect their personal values.