In all actuality, NFL.com exploiting Jamaal Charles’ season-ending injury in order to promote fantasy football shouldn’t surprise anyone. The NFL has long operated in hypocrisy.
Make a bone-jarring hit? Get fined, but also get on every highlight reel. Make enough big hits? Continue to get fined, but sign a huge contract that makes the fines look like peanuts.
Charles, the Kansas City Chiefs running back/consensus first-round fantasy draft pick who tore his ACL last Sunday, was pictured in a fantasy football advertisement on NFL.com holding his knee in despair while being carted off the field. The inscription read: “Injury ruined your fantasy season? Start again on NFL.com. It’s not too late.”
Well, it’s too late for integrity, but who needs that when the biggest thing in your world is suddenly making sure Dexter McCluster and Thomas Jones are available in your league?
Update: The ad was removed after about an hour on the site.
To be honest, the promo in question didn’t offend me all that much. It’s certainly low-rent, but we have to keep in mind how much NFL players are glorified due in part to fantasy football. There are a lot of fans who heard of guys like Charles and Arian Foster for the first time due to some connection to fantasy football. Yes, believe it or not, there are a lot more fantasy football fans than there are Chiefs and Texans fans, combined.
Therefore, you have to take the good with the bad. The advertisement on NFL.com showed a lack of compassion for Charles’ injury, but these are millionaire athletes we’re talking about; I think they can handle it. We’re not exactly talking about a website making fun of a high school (or even college) kid who suffered a season-ending ailment.
In December of 2010, Jamaal Charles signed a six-year, $28 million contract with $10 million guaranteed. Chances are good a fantasy football promotion isn’t keeping him up at night. Also, Charles doesn’t have a life-threatening disease. He has a torn ACL and will be back playing football next fall unless he has a setback in his rehabilitation. Let’s not pretend NFL.com was making fun of a cancer patient here.
However, stooping to the level that NFL.com did is just another sign of how big fantasy football has become. Speaking of which, McCluster better be ready to step up … my fantasy squad needs it.
