The ovations are long, but not nearly as long as the list of self-destructive moves that have marked potential greatness with anger, disappointment, and arrogance. To some, an NFL star is an almost god-like presence, a heroic figure worthy of love, loyalty, and care. At this point, however, where TMZ and ESPN videos of crimes and misdeeds dominate, can sports media and fans really remain so fervently protective of these idols?
The image of Eagles star defender Jalen Carter spitting in the face of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott continues to invoke rancor a week later.
Of course, this is not Carter’s first foray into controversy.
In January of 2023, while playing for the University of Georgia, he was racing through the streets of Athens, GA, with some Bulldog cohorts. Teammate Devin Willock and Georgia recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy were killed in the incident.
While they were not in the vehicle with Carter, he was driving at a rate higher than 100 miles per hour when the crash occurred. Twelve months’ probation, a $1,000 fine, and community service were part of his street racing and reckless driving charge.
While he has not had any such significant off-field issues since, his on-field actions are riddled with unnecessary roughness penalties and just plain stupid actions culminating in the disgusting spitting incident in the 2025 season opener vs. Dallas.
A Growing Issue With a New Generation
Can organizations continually invest in these supposedly gifted people? Media analysts and business consultants will provide many answers, but here is one to consider. Too many of today’s football stars have become utter disappointments, consistently blotting Roger Goodell’s precious NFL shield.
In truth, the word “famous” no longer applies. Try infamous or just plain obnoxious.
NFL players continue to shine brilliantly on the field but then venture deeply into a dark side, only to re-emerge in full ugliness on your home page the next morning. The inevitable blaming of the media or the pressure of fame are signs of people who truly believe their own hype.
Moreover, and perhaps more sadly, they are the signs of children who should have been reprimanded more sternly years ago. Many of these oversized examples of entitlement have been coddled into more mistakes and continued self-ruination.
Fans view these wayward stars as cartoons or bigger-than-life entities. They believe that the millions of dollars these performers take in, and sometimes lose, are just part of living and breathing in the high life. The numbers are just so hard to comprehend for people who have to deal with mortgages, gas bills, and credit card payments. That quarterback lost $40 million? That linebacker owes $80 million to the IRS?
You can slide any name onto the dotted line.
It is almost as if these players are not even real people. They are like huge Thanksgiving Day parade floats that fill the TV screen as they drift by, towering over the average person literally and figuratively. In truth, they are walking cautionary tales. Some would make the point that NFL players are, in fact, characters. Let me paraphrase Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolfe in Pulp Fiction: Just because you are a character doesn’t mean you have character. Those words apply perfectly to today’s stars.
Coaches, agents, and sponsors continue to enable these individuals by allowing their visages to appear on every sports show, commercial, and reality TV show that they can possibly do. Too many sports media types waste air and space debating if these guys can continue to achieve on the field of play.
Sure they can, if irresponsibility and lack of care are in the playbook.
Are We To Blame?
I know the history, but it doesn’t change the present. Many NFL players have always liked to drink in all the attention. They have always enjoyed the nightlife and carousing until the wee hours of the morning. And yes, they have always come afoul of the law, in a blameless and, at times, shameless way.
In between, they warm the hearts of fans everywhere with their on-field appeal and never-quit mentality. They are a refreshing change from the sterile, clean-cut, follow-the-rules minions that populate our lives. They are an escape.
Maybe we are to blame.
Maybe we get a certain sense of comfort seeing them fail. Famous footballers who stray become one of us because we stray too. When they fall from their mighty pedestals, they seem a little less superhuman.
They go to work and then tip back a few afterward, just like we do. The mold that forms charismatic performers creates memorable figures possessed with immense skills, but there is a flipside.
The mold also forms self-importance and ego.
It is not just Carter, and certainly it is not just NFL players. Across the sports landscape, many big-time athletes have been caught in the trap of balancing on-field success with off-field excess. Most of them eventually pay for their misdeeds. Their self-aggrandizing manners and wild ways lead to a buffet of problems ranging from financial to legal and then some.
I wish no such fate for today’s stars. Like many fans, I do see the charm of these talented people who make us cheer, smile, or even cry with a run, pass, or tackle. They play hard, live hard, and ignore the rules. Lately, though, that charm has been replaced by a realization. It seems to me that these stars are quite content with the sometimes unpleasant figures that they cut in multimedia platforms.
It’s like they are smugly saying, “Hey, look at us, we are complete screw-ups and we are still here, taking in your adoration and hearing your applause!” There are some who say that reaching a level of self-satisfaction and acceptance is a good thing. In this case, not so much.
We all have a fallen star in our lives, a person who trumps Morris the Cat and has about 90 lives. With these people, we forgive a lot because they are different, even special. NFL players are such permeating parts of our world. They provide common ground for the most disparate of people—liberals and right-wingers, pro-lifers and pro-choicers, guys who like Ginger and guys who like Mary Ann. It doesn’t matter.
These athletes, however sublime, seem to disappoint us so many times, and we like it because each disappointment gives them another shot at redemption, another chance to regain our love.
Everyone loves a good comeback. I’ll give these stars their due and grant them their singular abilities and magnetic demeanors. I’ll bow to their head-turning talent, but the immature and irresponsible behavior is more stomach-turning.
I understand why we all care about such NFL superstars. I just wonder if they care about us.
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John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
The issue isn’t the media. The issue is the lack of accountability my players and organizations. Players need to own up for what they do and say. The continual “I was taken out of context“ but it’s a direct quote is nonsense. If you call people out, just admit it and tell us why you did it.
And the lack of true punishment by organizations for bad behavior encourages continual bad behavior. He was already suspended for the game. The NFL should’ve added something more to drive home the point that his behavior was unacceptable. But that’s bad for ratings.