Troy Polamalu wants to play in an NFL that's more democratic. More American and less Chinese. More Red Hot Chili Peppers and less Guns N' Roses.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette shared Polamalu's take on what fans like about the NFL and the new tackling rules under the dictatorship of commissioner Roger Goodell.
"It's football, you know. If people want to watch soccer they can watch soccer. But honestly, overseas when people are attracted to this game, they're going to see the big hits. They're not going to care about touchdowns and different things."
"(Goodell's) got all the power. That may be part of the problem, that there needs to be some type of separation of power like our government.
"There should be some type of players involved in decisions over how much people should be fined or what they should be fined for, as well as coaches, as well as front office people. I don't think it should be just totally based on what two or three people may say who are totally away from the game. I think it should be some of the players who are currently playing."
Polamalu is a bad dude. Hair commercials and all. The NFL he envisions sounds like a league fans would enjoy even more. The NBA would also improve if they had more voices judging penalties, fines and suspensions.
We vote for laws and serve as jurors. NFL Hall of Famers vote for new inductees. Why should't active players have a say in the punishment of their peers? They have a better idea of what's truly dangerous in the moment and what crosses the line of decency in the field of play.
When asked if the NFL is confused in its approach to ruling on legal hits, Polamalu said, "No, I don't think there's any confusion. I just think the problem is that they're wrong.
