Apparently, Fans Shouldn't Expect NFL Players to Be Perfect

Last month, NFL Network's Jamie Dukes argued that it was "hypocritical to say [Brett Favre] should stop playing because you think it's time for him to stop." Never mind that no one has ever argued that. Instead, most fans -- even those with just a casual interest in the sport -- would prefer Favre not fake retire every offseason. I don't think that's asking for a lot.

Dukes is back. The just-concluded NFL Rookie Symposium prompted Dukes to writes that, "... there is an expectation among the populous that NFL players are supposed to be perfect because they were given the right to play football. THAT NOTION IS LUDICROUS!"

I agree, that is ludicrous. And it's probably why I have never heard anybody -- ever -- express disappointment in a public figure for not being perfect. There's more, of course.

I've heard this bogus argument dating back to my days on sports-talk radio and even this week on Twitter. The notion that suggests "if I were given that chance, I would do ..." It's easy to say what you would or would not do when you're not in a particular situation. There is a passage in the Bible where Jesus asks, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Have you ever got behind the wheel after having too many drinks? Have you ever had a one-night stand? Have you hung out late with your buddies to the dismay of your wife?

Fans aren't taking to Twitter or to message boards to pan athletes who have one-night stands, or hang out late with their buddies (and how this isn't obvious to Dukes is hard to fathom), but as THN points out, no amount of money would prompt most folks to fight dogs or shoot up a strip club, for example.

I understand that guys in their early 20s suddenly worth a few million bucks tend to have a skewed sense of reality. But there's a difference between, say, this (or, hell, this or this) and makin' it rain.

Sports Illustrated's Ross Tucker, who played in the league for seven seasons, was at the Rookie Symposium this week and writes, "It is an intense format designed to help players make the transition from college to the pros. For the NFL, it is a sizable investment in their future and many of the players that succeed can point to a watershed moment from the symposium." Weird. No mention of perfection training.

And 2007 Rams first-rounder Chris Long makes the case that Dukes doesn't. "I firmly believe that NFL players should be held to a higher standard ... and this event is one reason why." That's the point -- it's perfectly reasonable to expect high-profile athletes to conform to the same rules as the rest of us, and those expectations have nothing to do with living mistake-free lives.