Rob's Soapbox - Privilege? Ignorance? Racism? All of the above?

<p>It’s amazing how just one word can take a seemingly innocent question and turn it into, at best, an ignorant position of privilege, and at worst, complete and total racism.</p><p><br></p><p>In the aftermath of NFL Wide Receiver Henry Ruggs killing a woman and her dog while driving drunk in the early morning hours along the streets of Las Vegas at speeds as high as 156 MPH, a listener sent an email asking the following:</p><p><br></p><p><em><u>“After reading about Ruggs a couple days ago, and listening to what you reported to us all…it saddens me that the NFL doesn’t have professionals trained to work with these young…men coming into the NFL…could the lives of this girl and her dog have been saved if there was some sort of guidance given to Henry?”</u></em></p><p><br></p><p>In and of itself, it’s an innocuous question and a good one. The truth of the matter is, that the NFL does, and has for decades, held days-long orientations for rookies entering the league and recently, expanded their program to start mentoring college football players. The potential superstars are taught money management, the trappings of fame, how to stay out of trouble, and given the roadmap to prosperity, all of which is commendable considering so many of the young men who wind up in the NFL find themselves, suddenly, at the age 20-ish, millionaires. <a href="https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/NFL-Announces-Expanded-Rookie-Transition-Program.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/NFL-Announces-Expanded-Rookie-Transition-Program.aspx</a></p><p><a href="https://frontofficesports.com/nfl-college-rookie-transition/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://frontofficesports.com/nfl-college-rookie-transition/</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Sadly, no amount of “education,” will prevent the inevitability of life, as we see with our own eyes daily. </p><p><br></p><p>Had that been the end of the email, there’d be no story here, and no soapbox. Sadly, that wasn’t what the email sai