NFL Dishonors Tillman, Plummer

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the story surrounding Pat Tillman, the NFL player who left football, joined the Army Rangers, and lost his life in Afghanistan. You also probably recall a few weeks ago when the NFL honored Tillman by allowing players to wear a black circle emblazoned with Tillman's number 40 in white. A simple yet honorable tribute.

Now the NFL has "rules regarding personal messages on uniforms" which they say they need to apply "consistently". So when Denver QB Jake Plummer chose to wear the same circle on his helmet last week, the NFL started to cry like a bunch of kindergartners about their precious little rule being violated. Come on guys, act like the adults you profess to be.

No one wants to see an NFL uniform look like something a NASCAR driver would wear, but Tillman was one of your own. Plummer's sticker wasn't obnoxious, in fact, it was the same one you sanctioned earlier this season.

Tillman gave his life for his country and the freedom that it stands for. He was a credit to a league whose players often come across as overpaid, boastful, and spoiled. (Seems to me it wasn't that long ago that the NFL was said to stand for the National Felon's League.)

So what does the NFL management do? Rather than honor the very things Tillman gave his life for, you come out and try to intimidate Plummer, a man who was friends with Tillman and who played with him at both Arizona State and with the Arizona Cardinals.

Maybe you should look into your own house. If you are so adverse to Mr. Plummer's reference to Pat Tillman, why then do you still sell the official "Tillman Replica Jersey" (for which you have no problem charging $49.99 and $64.99) on your NFL Shop.

Now, I know you worked out (strong armed?) an agreement to get Plummer to remove the sticker. But as far as I am concerned, everything you agreed to should have been done anyway. Pat Tillman was a man of courage. If you, the NFL, had even a fraction of that courage, you would suspend your petty little rule this once and allow the players to use that simple sticker to pay tribute to their fallen comrade. That's what real men of honor would do.