Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco, whose football career -- and in turn off-field appeal -- has been slipping into the chasm of irrelevance, has tried to get some attention by writing a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Here’s the letter to his “Dad,” as posted at Chad’s website, OCNNReport.com:
Dear Dad,
I know it has been a rough week, so I wanted to reach out. Players dying, players suing and on top of that my peers are just going off on you in the media. It does not help that ESPN has all of a sudden become Medical TV with damn near every brain expert on the planet. This has got to be the worst week ever. Since no one is showing any support, I figured I would be the first. You are in one big ass catch 22 and quite frankly, I am not sure there is any solution. One thing I think can help is killing the NFL PR machine.
Y’all do a darn near perfect job at portraying this game as one played by heroes.
But let’s be real dad. This is a nasty, dirty and violent game with consequences. Sign up or go get a regular job. Watch it or turn off the TV and go fishing with your kids. It is really that simple. I know there are probably legal and financial implications that prevent this blunt depiction, but am not sure if you have a choice. If you don’t say it now, the mounting evidence being revealed publicly will say it for you very soon. In all, I love you and if anyone can lead us out of this mess, it will be you. Oh by the way, I have a deal for you. Am having a rebound year and plan to do a lot of celebrating in the end zone. Can my fine money go to supporting ex-players suffering?
Sincerely,
Chad
Actually, fine money already goes to player-related charities. (With all the fines Chad has paid over the years, you’d think he would know that.)
As to the rest of the letter, if the message from Ochocinco constitutes “support” for Goodell, we’d love to see what it would have said if it didn’t.
Either way, it’s good that Chad is concerned about the plight of former players. Since he advocates a “blunt depiction,” he needs to realize that, sooner rather than later, he’ll be one himself.