Not really Al Sharpton, though he is apparently the founder of the National Action Network which recently asked the NFL...
The Rev. Al Sharpton's organization says Canton has not addressed complaints of police misconduct, so the civil rights group is asking the NFL to cancel this summer's Hall of Fame game in the city.
Richard Jones heads the local chapter of the National Action Network, founded by Sharpton. Jones says the group also will publish contact information for black NFL stars so they can be urged to put pressure on the league.
And not really "hates the Redskins" either, though that sounds a lot more dramatic than "doesn't want them to play a game" for civil rights reasons. I haven't the foggiest idea what symbolic effect canceling the Redskins v. Colts game could possibly have on alleged police misconduct by Canton authorities, but whatev.
Sports By Brooks has the gruesome details on what allegedly went down:
The CANTON REPOSITORY reports that Cortes Everett was arrested last December for marijuana possession and carrying a loaded handgun. But Everett claims police took away his pants and made him stand butt-naked in the snow, while officer Richard Hart yelled profanities at him.
Somewhere in there you'd expect an NFL referee to have participated in the misconduct, since the organization is appealing to the NFL -- not Canton
[editor's note, by Skin Patrol] Well, that isn't technically true. But in this instances they are appealing to the NFL, not Canton]. The city existed independently of the NFL for over 100 years, and ostensibly is not under control of the National Football League. From what I could tell, there are
nine times as many practicing police misconduct firms in the Washington D.C. area than there are in Canton, Ohio, which tends to suggest that police misconduct is a more prevalent issue in D.C. I just hope Al Sharpton and others don't one day suggest
Your Washington Redskins not play football games at all in order to combat police misconduct closer to home. Again, a question is raised about the possible symbolic relationship between police misconduct and a football game, once more, whatev.
Oh, here it is:
Jones stated that NAN will "publish the contact information for Roger Goodell, Gene Upshaw, Troy Vincent and every African-American player in the NFL and ask that our brothers and sisters around the world call, fax and bombard these men with the simple request that the NFL hold the city of Canton to the same standard that it held Adam 'Pacman' Jones, Chris Henry, Terry 'Tank' Johnson and Michael Vick too.
Which is a strange thing to suggest since the City of Canton isn't one of the NFL's employees whereas Pacman Jones, Chris Henry, Tank Johnson, and Mike Vick are or were. The NFL exercised control over those entities as employees. Why hasn't the NFL held
Hosni Mubarak to the same stringent no-punching-strippers standard it held Pacman Jones? Because the NFL does not employee Hosni Mubarak. Right?
Suffice to say, I doubt this story is going anywhere fast nor do I think it should. The Redskins will play the Colts in Canton, police misconduct is wrong, but that's got nothing at all to do with football. In a related story, in protest of Miller Lite's morally corrupt and reprehensible decision not to provide me with a lifetime supply of free beer, I demand that all River Dance shows be canceled in all cities in which Miller Lite sells alcohol that they should be distributing to me for free instead. All I ask is that they hold Irish Dance to the same strict standards they hold all their employees to, for reasons I am unprepared to either defend or explain.
