Professional athletics often comes under fire quite for the ever-increasing emphasis on their commercialism. After all, each major American sports league is a massive business that brings in profits that most other ventures can only dream about. You can’t blame business executives for turning sports into commercial powerhouses because what they have done for the popularity and participation of these sports is invaluable. I’m not pleased with how much money has become a focus in the world of sports. Too many athletes choose teams and contracts based almost solely on how much money they’ll bring in, but I have to accept the fact that the love for the game or love for one’s team is not always going to be the number one priority for executives, managers, and athletes.
But what I can take solace in is that among the changing motives of professional athletes, I can be sure that there will still be those who regard the game as more than just going to work. Adrian Peterson has shown, in an amazing gesture to the importance of football, in this past week that professional sports can serve a deeper, more meaningful purpose. Last week when Peterson’s son was placed in critical condition due to injuries sustained from domestic violence on behalf of the child’s mother’s boyfriend, Peterson was steadfast in his declaration that he would play in Sunday’s game against the Panthers. After his son passed away, Peterson’s plans did not changed.
It was disappointing to see so many news outlets criticize Peterson’s decision to play last Sunday. Not only did these criticisms show that these members of the media did not respect Peterson’s choice in a method of coping, they made me think that they were making an overall statement about sports—they are just a game.
Who has the right to criticize what Peterson thought would help him most after losing his son? There is no right way to deal with such a tragedy and, for Peterson, playing football has always been his way of fighting through the toughest moments. For him, football isn’t just a game. How anyone can call into question his relationship with his son based on his decision to play is unimaginable to me.
In fact, I would even venture to say that participating in sports is one of the best methods of coping we have. For Peterson, playing in that football game meant being around the guys he spends most of his hours working with to ultimately achieve a shared goal. The feeling of camaraderie and brotherhood that exist among members of a sport team are tough to recreate anywhere else.
Although the Panthers left the field Sunday with the win, that Peterson was able to give it his all in a game that rests in the core of his life’s passions should be considered a valiant victory, regardless of what the scoreboard reported.
“I never thought about not playing. It was all about just going out there and having the strength to play and having the strength to get through and help my team. That was my focus,” Peterson said.
Those who disagreed with his decision are prevented by ignorance from seeing that getting out on that field was the best way he could receive the support he needed from what he calls his “fraternity of brothers.” The thinking that the NFL or other major sports leagues are anything less can be derived from the fact that our attentions are really only drawn to the games. We watch our favorite athletes put on their show under the big lights, but what we don’t see are the hours and hours of practice, film-watching, strategy-making, and bonding that goes on between these teammates.
For those like us who are not actually part of this family of sorts, it is hard to imagine the relationships that are built through playing on these professional sports teams. We see the commercialized result of the almost nonstop preparation these guys put in, but that is only a small portion of the actual lifestyle they lead. Pro athletes may be increasingly distracted from purer motives by bloated contract deals and stardom, but this by no means excuses the thought that sports cannot fill an essential emotional role in life.
