Reverse Discrimination - The NFL way

Let's get one thing straight and understood right out of the gate. I am all for equality in the workplace. I believe people should be hired on how well the can crunch numbers, not on the numbers of crunches they can do.

Now, do I believe every office would benefit from at least one "attractive" female co-worker? You're damn straight. Even if her sole job was to boost employee morale by asking how your weekend went or smiling at you when you walked into the office, that's easily worth $20,000-30,000.

You figure it's professional environment, what's the worst that could happen?

Well why don't you ask Sean Salisbury, Steve Phillips, or Harold Reynolds at ESPN?

All were let go for some type of harassment or alleged affair with co-workers and interns.

I'm not here to condemn them at all. I'm here to elaborate on something everyone already knows, but seems to get passed over in the court of common sense.

Men find women attractive, and the ones they find attractive, more times than not they will pursue.

It's not rocket science, hell it's about as elementary as 1+1=2.

You see "harassment" accusations all the time in politics and corporate settings. It's a known fact that one of the most controversial Presidents of the United States was caught up in a similar case.

It's a natural reaction of men, most times we can control it, but hey sometimes we just gotta let it out (No Brett, I'm not talking about that, pull up your pants).

The NFL should really know better than to even put the temptation out there. For the most part, their interns, assistants, and marketing personnel are young 20-30 somethings just trying to get their foot in the door.

Are you really going to put these type of women around men whose testosterone levels are RED on the Homeland Security Reading Rainbow chart?

These players either just finished working out for a few hours or competed in a sport in which the goal is pure animalistic instinct, tackling whoever has the football.

Out of the top 3 things that get men riled up, I'd be safe to say working out and competing in sports are #'s two and three. Guess what numbers one is?

So after they finish either of these activities, and see an attractive woman coming their way, guess what crosses their mind?

I can't blame or condemn them. NFL Players are made from a different cloth. The human beings are bred and raised for the sole purpose of high impact competition. They aren't physicists or doctors, they're taught to rely on instincts 95% of the time. In addition, they have been shown they're judged on a different level than everyone else (which I don't agree with). What makes you believe they don't think they should be catered to and get away with everything and anything?

These recent stories with Ines Sainz and Jenn Sterger just point out a bigger problem.

The NFL needs to hire less attractive women. I mean really, do you believe former playboy playmates can be taken seriously as a game day host? You don't think every guy in that locker room is going to make a pass at her? Or how about Miss Sainz. When you show up to a Super Bowl event asking Tom Brady to marry you, and years later accuse players of making inappropriate comments, I'm sorry you pretty much asked for that. Your professional integrity went out the window when you showed up in a wedding dress that Super Bowl weekend, and in skin tight jeans to interview players.

Listen, I'm not saying attractive women CAN'T do this job, b/c just at ESPN alone there are a 5-6 women, who have legitimate knowledge of sports and are fantastic commentators or analysts.

I'm saying maybe teams shouldn't allow the players to have direct access to these women.

You always hear people complain "oh I wonder how she got this job", just because another person is probably better looking than they are. Sometimes, those accusations hold true, other times, one can truly have both beauty and brains.

So let's go a step further and use reverse discrimination to hire those dubbed "unattractive". As Chris Rock once said, "I'm not saying it's right, but I understand".

At least then the players would be more faithful to their wives and we wouldn't be forced to see what's below those Wrangler jeans.

I'm on to you LeBron!

Can you believe it's October 1st??

I mean it snuck up on you better than that ghost in Paranormal Activity. It's been a busy week and it only looks to get better as we swing into one of the best months, sports-wise.

LeBron James. No one name in sports is more polarizing than his. He's loved by some, yet hated by millions. I have to admit I was going to write a scathing review of his most recent comments. LeBron recently said he thinks race played a factor in how the public has perceived his defection to the Miami Heat. Since the beginning, I've openly admitted I had NO problem with him going to the Miami Heat. We get to see a team you'd try to assemble on NBA Live or 3/10ths of a Dream Team. My problem was the way he went about announcing his decision. I openly believe 75% of the media and public shared this view. It was nothing short of an open slap in the face to all his fans and the entire city of Cleveland.

However, I think I'm starting to catch on to LeBron's game. He's performing the old "heel-turn" perfected by one Hulk Hogan. For years LeBron was the most beloved Superstar in the NBA. He was always the 2nd or 3rd best player in the league. He was able to sell millions of jerseys, gain a ridiculous following, and even promote a new saying, "I'm a witness". He single-handily took on the monumental task of turning around the fortunes of one terrible sports town (Cleveland). Now don't get me wrong, Cleveland fans are both loyal and volatile. What I mean by that sentence is that they've been tortured for pretty much their entire existence, with the exception of the Jim Brown Era.

Look at what history LeBron has had to battle against. The Browns losing the "Fumble Game" against the Broncos in 1988 AFC Championship game. It has it's own Wikipedia page dedicated to it. Go ahead, start typing "the fumble" and see what comes up. Then in the 90's, their team gets stolen. The Browns are repackaged as the Baltimore Ravens, and win a Super Bowl a few years later. DAMN!.

In baseball, the Indians last enjoyed a World Series championship in 1948. They made it back to the World Series in 1997, had TWO OUTS in the bottom of the 9TH of Game 7, and STILL managed to lose. Did I mention it was to a team whose inaugural season was 1993? GUT-PUNCH!

How much worse can it get???

Finally, in basketball, the Cavs first get their hearts ripped out by the ruthless Jordan in both 1989 and 1991, on his way to his first championship. Then in 2006-07 they make it to the NBA Finals led by LeBron, only to have Tim Duncan and company, laugh in their faces, and sweep the series 4 games to none.

LeBron started looking across the way at Kobe, who admittedly was the most hated player in the NBA (except by those in LA). However, Kobe also had 5 championships. LeBron knew his time was limited and he needed to start winning titles ASAP in order to cement his legacy as one of the top 10 players of all-time.

This is where my theory comes in to play. He knew if he just announced he was going to Miami, everyone would still love him, but he'd risk falling into Dwayne Wade's shadow as the 3rd most popular player. LeBron began planning his attack carefully. He knew being the nice guy or "babyface" would only get him so far. I'm convinced he knew he was going to Miami months before his ill-fated "The Decision 2010". He looked at Jordan, Kobe, and Isiah and thought, "I gotta get that mean-streak, I need to turn a few shades darker". That night, he decided to turn "heel" on the entire league and its' fanbase.

On National TV he basically told Cleveland, "FU, I'm taking my talent elsewhere where it won't be squandered". Within an hour time, he went from most beloved player to most hated, even passing Kobe along the way. Anytime you can get millions of fans to go from jeering to cheering Kobe, that's a helluva feat.

However, he didn't want it to stop there. He wanted to show the world he wasn't messing around. In an interview he called out the critics by saying, "don't think I'm not taking note of what's been said". That didn't quite have the effect he wanted in having more people turn on him. Therefore, recently he went with the old stand-by.

The Race Card.

You know every time it's brought up in Professional Sports, it gets people talking. Usually a lot of disdain is shown towards the person who is using that card. In this case, his claims are so outrageous, people can't help but naturally hate him.

After the interview on CNN, he just sat back and let the controversy boil over, like a master chef preparing a stew. Going into this season he knows he's public enemy #1, not only in the NBA, but in all of professional sports. It was A-Rod, but people have started to warm to him through indifference.

I know LeBron isn't dumb enough to believe race was actually a factor. I do believe he is smart enough to know that controversy creates cash, and will only help his legend grow. That is if he silences all the critics by winning the title this year or next. Everyone is rooting for him fail, and nothing provides a greater motivation that proving them wrong, not even winning one for your hometown team.

In this day and age, being anti-establishment and the cocky heel is cool. LeBron is a marketing genius and understands this. That's why he's decided to switch personas. He no longer wants to be Batman, but rather the Joker, because the Joker always gets the last laugh.