My hopes and predictions for the 2022 NFL season
Hint: They have nothing to do with wins and losses
By Craig Lazzeretti
When I was an altar boy at my Catholic church back in the 1980s, I would wake at the crack of dawn for the 7 a.m. Mass, not because I was an early riser but because it allowed me to get home in plenty of time for the 10 a.m. NFL kickoffs.
As a new NFL season kicks off this weekend, I won’t be headed to church, nor will I be watching any games. Times change, and for me, the Catholic Church and the NFL no longer provide the comforts and joys they did well into my adulthood. It’s not that there is no good to be found in them any longer; as with all people and institutions in society, there is good and bad, stories of hope and inspiration, and ones of failure and hypocrisy.
It’s just that for me the failures and hypocrisies have become too much to bear.
A church and sports league that have failed to own up to their own sins and the lives that have been destroyed through their decisions to ignore the child sex abuse and concussion crises for far too long.
A church and league that too often turn a blind eye toward the systemic racism that infects both their own institutions and society at large.
The arrogance of church leaders who deny communion to devout Catholic politicians who refuse to do their bidding on the question of abortion but offer it freely to politicians who do nothing to stop children from being slaughtered in our schools and on our streets by the guns that they seem to worship like a religion.
The arrogance of a league that writes “End Racism” in the end zones during MLK Day even as it blackballs players who take a knee during the national anthem for precisely that reason, and continues to deny head coaching opportunities to the minority group that constitutes a majority of all players.
So, as we kick off the 2022 season, I too am filled with wishes and predictions for the sport that will be our national religion over the next five months. Only mine have nothing to do with wins and losses.
Wish: That an NFL team will finally sign Colin Kaepernick, and that the league will show the same willingness to give another chance to players who were unfairly ostracized for kneeling for racial justice during the national anthem – years before a knee took the life of George Floyd – as it does to alleged sexual abusers.
Prediction: Kaepernick will never take another snap in an NFL game. Deshaun Watson, who is serving an 11-game suspension over sexual misconduct allegations, will take many.
Wish: That the NFL will finally repent for the damning truths revealed in the films “League of Denial” and “Concussion” a decade ago: It ignored the facts about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) for years because it valued its popularity and riches over the health of its players, destroying scores of lives in the process. It should hold a moment of silence at games for the victims of CTE and publicly apologize to their families.
Prediction: About as likely as the National Rifle Association repenting for its role in the gun violence crisis. After all the damage it's done to player health, this is a league that still promotes tackle youth football, despite the clear risks it poses to developing brains.
Wish: That NFL owners will show a genuine commitment to hire Black head coaches, instead of the illusion created by the farcical “Rooney Rule” (in which teams are required to consider minority candidates for top positions). In a league where the majority of players identify as Black, a grand total of three teams (out of 32) will start the 2022 season with Black head coaches. No wonder the league is being sued for racial discrimination by coach Brian Flores, who was fired by the Miami Dolphins after posting consecutive winning seasons and then subjected to sham interviews for other openings.
Prediction: Nothing will change. These are the same owners who have given millions to Donald Trump and other Republican politicians who rail against “critical race theory,” as well as other efforts to address systemic racism, while enriching themselves through the talents of Black players.
Wish: That the Dallas Cowboys (aka “America’s Team”) will face a prolonged public backlash over its decision to partner with Black Rifle Coffee (maker of the “AK-47 Espresso Blend” and “Murdered Out Coffee Roast”) only weeks after 19 Texas schoolchildren were slaughtered in a classroom by an assault rifle (and a day after the July 4 mass shooting in Illinois).
Prediction: The only thing more American than Americans’ love of football may be their love of guns. “America’s Team” has nothing to fear.
Wish: That I will one day respect the NFL enough to watch a game again.
Prediction: Upwards of 100 million Americans will tune into the Super Bowl on Feb. 12. This lifelong fan won’t be among them.
“America’s Game” may be as popular as ever, but for me, the NFL has become “America’s Shame.”