Editor's Note: The following article reports that the National Football League (NFL), concerned about the flashing of gang signs among angry players, is ratcheting up its monitoring of such signs. Questions that might leap to mind as you read this are: Why has it taken so long for the NFL to recognize that a significant number of its players consider themselves gangsters? What does "stepping up its monitoring of...flashing...hand signals" mean, that the NFL will take disciplinary measures against players who are witnessed by others and caught on video flashing? What kinds of disciplinary measures will the NFL take? Will the NFL have enough courage to take a firm stand against gang hand-sign flashing or will it elect to tip-toe a waltz around the player's representative and draft vague, muddled language that nobody can understand and, as a result, confuse folks about what it is that's supposed to be against NFL rules and deserving of sanctions?
Is the NFL prepared to ask player-aspirants or draftees, before showering them with contracts, if they are now, or ever have been, affiliated with any criminal street gang? Is the NFL itself prepared to undergo thorough and complete training on gangs, gang culture, and telltale signs of gang membership, including the wearing of certain kinds of tattoos? Is the NFL prepared to usher in a new wave of acceptable-looking players--clean-cut and minus tattoos and gang hand signs--publicize this and then practice what it preaches (this could lead to some NFL hopefuls NOT getting signed, despite families' and agents' expectations)? Does the NFL ever run criminal background checks on players before signing them? If you think about the numbers of NFL players who have been arrested, or have been victims of homicide, you would have to agree that such backgrounds checks might have revealed past gang activity, histories of abuse of spouses or significant others, cruelty to animals, and other crimes, including weapons violations.
NEW YORK (AP)—The NFL is stepping up its monitoring of on-field player activities to ensure that no one is flashing the hand signals of street gangs.
The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the league had hired experts to look at game tapes and identify players or team officials who might be using suspected gang signals. Violators would be warned and disciplined if the episodes recurred.
League officials said Tuesday that avoiding gang-related activities has long been stressed.
They said the scrutiny was intensified after the shooting death of Denver cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007 after Williams was involved in a dispute with known gang members. Anti-gang information is included in orientation literature and stressed in the annual mandatory league meeting for rookies.
The NFL took further notice after Paul Pierce of the NBA’s Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 in April for what the league said was a “menacing gesture” toward the Atlanta Hawks’ bench. “I 100 percent do not in any way promote gang violence or anything close to it.” Pierce said in a statement. “I am sorry if it was misinterpreted that way at Saturday’s game.”
The Times said that was the precipitating incident for the NFL.
“We were always suspicious that might be happening,” it quoted Mike Pereira, the NFL’s vice president of officiating, as saying of gang-related signals. “But the Paul Pierce thing is what brought it to light. When he was fined … that’s when we said we need to take a look at it and see if we need to be aware of it.”
Most senior NFL officials were at a league outing Tuesday and could not immediately be reached for comment.
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