Give the Ref a Gavel

Many of you may have heard about "bounties" that take place in the NFL. If you haven't, a bounty is the targeting of a specific player in order to injure them. Sometimes they are known as hitlists, but either way they are still a very talked-about subject. Eldon Ham, the author of this article, discusses his experience with bounties, as he was a lawyer for the Chicago Bears' quarterback Jim McMahon in 1986. McMahon was "slammed to the turf" by a defensive player from the Packers, and injured his soldier. Ham states how he wanted to sue, but in a game of such brutality it was almost impossible. And that is the main complaint. We see football as manly, and because of this we seemingly accept when awful things like this become normal. And Ham argues that legislation must step up in order to make it easier to process issues like this in courts. Obviously, he sees this as a major issue, and yet almost every team still does it. In fact, the New Orleans Saints, praised for being a good-hearted and fun-natured team, have just been discovered to have put out "bounties" on players from the 2009 to 2011 season. Obviously this proves that bounties are more common than many may think.

Ham seems very passionate about this topic. This pathos appeal probably comes from his personal experience being a lawyer for a bountied player. He definitely feels as if these acts are near criminal, as he uses words such as "ruthless" and  "tragically" to show his disappointment in the league and the players involved. He also shows his feelings about legislation and his own opinions when he says that "this criminal conspiracy should be punished beyond the N.F.L fines and suspensions that loom." Clearly, Ham feels that the government isn't doing enough to make processing these attacks easy, and being a lawyer he uses this to his advantage to try to push his issue. In the end, it seems as if this is a persuasive article, as instead of complaining, he actually poses a solution, which in turn gives him more credibility as a writer instead of a complainer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/opinion/prosecute-excess-violence-in-sports.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss