Saints’ running back Alvin Kamara arrested for battery

courtesy @Saints on Twitter

Yet again, another star NFL Player is in the news for problems off the field. On Sunday evening, the day of the Pro Bowl, New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara was arrested and charged with battery resulting in substantial bodily harm.

Alvin Kamara was picked in the third round of the 2017 draft by the New Orleans Saints from the University of Tennessee. Since his matriculation into the league, Kamara has averaged a massive 1500 yards per season on the ground and in the air with 67 touchdowns total. He has been elected to the Pro Bowl each season and was awarded Offensive Rookie of the Year. Along with Drew Brees and Michael Thomas, he has led the Saints to a record of 58-23 during his time in the NFL. He is, with no doubt, an amazing athlete and star player.

Unfortunately, this time he is not on the headlines for an incredible athletic performance. At 6:30 a.m. the Saturday prior to the Pro Bowl, Alvin Kamara allegedly punched a man eight times at The Cromwell Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Darnell Greene, the alleged victim, attempted to step into an elevator with Kamara and then the scuffle ensued. Greene sustained an orbital bone fracture to his right eye which may require surgery. The police talked to him while he was in the hospital being treated for injuries matter how the criminal case goes, Greene will probably seek recourse in civil court as well.

In a private attempt to serve justice, the NFL will most likely suspend Kamara for at least six games. This news does not bode well for the New Orleans Saints, who had its worst offense when Kamara was on injured reserve last year.

and he directed them towards Alvin Kamara. After a surveillance video corroborated the victim’s statement and a credit card purchase pinned Kamara at the scene, an arrest report was created against him. He was arrested after the Pro Bowl and posted $5,000 bail. The hearing is scheduled for March 8.

Alvin Kamara’s attorney released a statement on Thursday, Feb. 10, stating, “Alvin Kamara has gained a well-deserved reputation for being a hard-working and a community-minded individual. The recent Las Vegas allegations are not consistent with who Mr. Kamara has shown himself to be in both his public and private life. Therefore, we are conducting our own investigation into all of the circumstances and individuals associated with the matter to determine both the facts and motivations of all involved.” This seems like a feeble rebuttal by Alvin’s legal defense. There is clear video evidence of Kamara punching the man repeatedly. No

Some people have criticized the NFL’s response to situations like these. There seems to have been so many large profile criminal cases in the NFL – Aaron Hernandez, Ray Lewis, Ray Rice, Michael Vick, Kareem Hunt and now Alvin Kamara. Why does it seem to happen every year? Do NFL players commit more violent crimes than average or is it simply the availability heuristic — that because it’s in the news we think it’s more common than it is? In 2014, USA Today ran an analytical study to determine the relative rates of crime for NFL players versus U.S. men aged 21-34. They found that NFL players are disproportionately arrested and charged with domestic violence but have a lower arrest rate overall.

The NFL will continue to try to dissuade this behavior, but petty fines and small suspensions do not seem to be a deterrent.

The annual NFL Pro Bowl has existed since the early 1950s. Players are elected by a combination of coaches, players and fans. The all-stars from either conference compete in an National Football Conference (NFC) versus American Football Conference (AFC) exhibition game. In the end, the true honor is the Pro Bowl selection rather than the quality of the game. Additionally, since 2016, the NFL has included a skills showdown in the Pro Bowl festivities. There are a variety of unique competitions where players from each conference team compete against one another. The 2022 Pro Bowl featured five self-explanatory competitions: Precision Passing, Thread the Needle, Best Catch, Fastest Man and Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball.

The skills showdown on Thursday before the Pro Bowl really exemplified the laid-back mood for the Pro Bowl. It was filled with laughter from the athletes, crowd and commentators alike. Many of the competitions are not taken seriously with smiles all around. The Best Catch competition, new this year, featured top wide receivers Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson as well as Trevon Diggs, the cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys. Some of the highlights included a casual falling catch onto a folding table and a recreation of the famous “helmet catch” alongside a more technically challenging one-handed, under-the-leg grab by Trevon Diggs.

In the Pro Bowl game on Feb. 6, the AFC beat the NFC 41-35 at Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium, extending a five game win streak for the American conference. The game was full of defensive highlights, which is unsurprising due to the offenses lacking the requisite long hours of practice. The tone was set when Darius Leonard, the Indianapolis Colts linebacker, returned an interception for a touchdown in Kyler Murray’s opening drive. After six more interceptions, an amazing performance by Justin Herbert led the AFC to victory.

Every year, fans, the media and players complain about the state of the Pro Bowl. NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders took to Twitter this year, exclaiming, “Lord help me. I’m watching the @nfl Pro Bowl and I

remember when we were so proud and appreciative of that accolade. We went to Hawaii to prove we were more than worthy so we competed at practice and in the game. I wanted u to know that PRIME was PRIME ! What Happened & When ?” The lack of tackling bothers fans who tune in expecting to watch competitive professional football similar to the regular season.

Those are legitimate complaints, but they are difficult to fix. Many of the objections to the Pro Bowl stem from the increased safety. There are strict tackling rules to limit hard hits and injuries. American football has one of the highest rates of injuries in organized sports worldwide. The NFL, and elite players themselves, do not want to risk a season-ending injury in one isolated game that has no bearing on the real season. The lower pay players receive for the game is not enough of an incentive. Moreover, even if every player performed with 100% effort, the lack of cohesiveness and practice severely limits the capabilities of the team. The Pro Bowl will not change significantly as long as it gets the same viewership numbers. If you want to watch “good” intense and competitive football, wait for the Super Bowl the following week.

courtesy @Chiefs on Twitter

courtesy @Buccaneers on Twitter courtesy @NFL on Twitter

After Peng Shuai, the 36-year-old, threetime Olympic tennis player, lodged the first Me Too accusation against a high-ranking member of the Communist Party in China, she went missing just to resurface and say the whole situation was a “huge misunderstanding.”

On Nov. 2, Shuai posted a lengthy statement on the Chinese social media platform Weibo accusing Zhang Gaoli, China’s 75-year-old former vice-premier, of forcing her to have “sexual relations” with him. She writes that seven years ago, Gaoli and her had sex, but had no contact until he recently invited her over to play tennis. After they played, Shuai, Gaoli and Gaoli’s wife, Kang Jie, all went back to the Gaoli’s house and he brought Shuai into his room with a guard outside and began berating her to have sex him this time, he exclaims that he hates her, and that he helped her exponentially over the seven years they were apart. Out of guilt and mixed emotions, Shuai gave in and they had sex with Gaoli’s wife in the house. The recollection of events Shuai posted have since been translated to English, therefore the exact quotations may not be worded the exact way Shuai wanted.

A half an hour after the post was published, the heavily censored Chinese Internet had already removed the post, blocked anyone from searching for “tennis,” “Peng Shuai,” or “Zhang Gaoli,” and suspended accounts sharing screenshots of the post in hope to keep the spread of information limited. However the post spread around China and then around the world, creating a story with international attention.

with him. Shuai was appalled that his wife would be okay with the situation, and wanting to have nothing to do with Gaoli, she refused. The two went back and ate dinner with Jie, during which Shuai reports that she could not stop crying, but Gaoli continuously comforted her until she felt better. After dinner, she finds the comforting came from ulterior motives, as he demands again for the two to have sex. When Shuai denies

The situation also garnered international worry, because immediately after the post, Shuai went missing for 18 days. Shuai was the country’s biggest tennis star, so the tennis community did not take lightly to her disappearance. The Women’s Tennis Organization, Association of Tennis Professionals and multiple high-ranking tennis players publicly pushed for an investigation. On Nov. 14, the Women’s Tennis Organization (WTO) officials announced they still were unable to contact Shuai.

On Nov. 17, CGTN, a Chinese stateowned media company, finally released a statement about Shuai, saying she was “resting at home” and that “everything [was] fine.” The post also included an email that Shuai allegedly sent to WTO that the news about sexual assault allegations are not true, and she is not missing or unsafe. For good reason, the WTO did not accept or believe this statement, and the search for Shuai, and the battle on censorship, continued. The Association of Tennis Professionals and President Joe Biden both announced they want “verifiable proof” that Shuai is truly okay and not just statements by the Chinese government. Photos of Shuai in her house playing with stuffed animals were the result of these demands, a media outlet claiming they were photos she sent to her friends.

On Feb. 6, Shuai made her way back into the spotlight to make a personal statement of her conditions with a French newspaper, L’Equipe. The interview took place in Beijing in a controlled hotel room, and the two journalists were allotted an hour of time. L’Equipe revealed that they had to submit questions in advance, and present them in front of a Chinese Olympic committee official.

The most notable part of the L’Equipe interview was when Shuai stated that the whole situation was a “huge misunderstanding” and when asked about the sexual assault allegations she responded, “sexual assault? I never said that anyone made me submit to sexual assault.” In the duration of the interview, Shuai also claimed that she was the one that erased the post in November because she realized sports, her romantic life and politics should not be mixed and that her life since November has been, “as it should be: Nothing special.”

Shuai also used the interview to announce her official retirement from tennis, which sparked warnings with many as Shuai is only 36-years-old, without injury, and was continuously winning awards and tournaments leading up to November.

Shortly after the interview was published, Marc Ventouillac, one of the L’Equipe journalists covering the story, went on record to say he believed the L’Equipe interview was “Chinese propaganda.” He revealed that even though he was in the same room talking with Shuai, he couldn’t tell if she was truly safe. He also fielded his opinion that the interview was only performed so that Shuai’s disappearance didn’t overshadow the 2022 Winter Olympics currently happening in Beijing.

While the information and interviews have people creating and sharing their own opinions on what’s happening to Shuai, most seem to agree on one thing: Peng Shuai is still not safe.

courtesy Wikimedia Commons courtesy Wikimedia Commons