In recent months it seems that more and more professional athletes are in the news for getting arrested or committing crimes. The most famous recent one obviously is Aaron Hernandez, who was recently put in prison for murder. Only until the last few years have these constant arrests seem to be making an impact to the success of teams. This season with the absence of Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, it is obvious that the New England Patriots are not the same. Other good examples of star players missing time due to run-ins with the law are Plaxico Burress and Mike Vick. Each player had experienced success in the NFL and then served prison sentences. Who or what is to blame for this? Is it the way the athletes are being raised or is it the new friends and money that they inherit when they reach the big time? In some cases it's both. The NFL thinks that it does enough to make players aware of the off-field trouble they can get into. Every year after the NFL Draft, a rookie symposium is held to help the new players make the transition into such a different life. Clearly this isn't helping because arrest totals keep going up. It will be interesting to see if the NFL does anything to help prevent all of this from happening (e.g. new punishments or suspensions). All I know is that something big needs to change and fast.
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