Professional football has become one of the biggest spectator sports in the country, with multiple network television deals, sellout crowds all over the country, huge jersey sales and a huge video game franchise. The National Football League brings in huge revenue, but something going on between the lines threatens the entire empire.

The New Orleans Saints bounty scandal has lead to the scary realization that some players hit not for the good of the team, but to destroy the health of the opponent.

Recent revelations of bounties on players caused some heavy suspensions for Saints staff members including a year long suspension of Head Coach Sean Payton. The suspensions have come down after it was revealed that players on the Saints would receive bonuses if they knocked certain players out of the game. Audio of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was released and proved that the goal of the Saints was at times to knock players out of the game.

Fans want to believe that it is no big deal, and that it is just part of the game. They want to think that players trying to hurt each other is the basis of football. Maybe it is fear that it will come down on their favorite team or maybe it is because the Saints are involved, a franchise that has been at the center ofNew Orleans’ recovery from Hurricane Katrina. No matter what it is, these beliefs are wrong, these offenses are punishable and should be handled strictly by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Many former players have also expressed that this is just part of the game and that players do want to physically harm each other. There is no doubt that football is a tough game and players will get hurt pretty frequently but that should not be the goal of the game. The goal of a tackle should be to stop the ball carrier not to end his career. There is a fine line between playing the game with passion and intensity and playing with the intent to injure.

If the freaks of nature known as NFL defenders are trying to give someone a concussion, spinal injury or an ACL injury, there is a good chance they will do it.

This is where it threatens the NFL-  if more of these reports come out and more key players go down with crushing injuries due to this, it is hard to believe that America will pay to see men’s careers and lives ruined.

There is a love for violence in this society but only to a certain extent. Fans love to see NFL player hit as hard as they can but nobody likes seeing a man carried off in a stretcher. Beyond all the glamour of a pro athlete’s life, they are still people with families who need them and to threaten that for a little extra cash is something that should be punished.