Even Mickey Mouse Hates The Criminoles

Recently, Disney has been trying to crack down on what it calls "ganglike activity" taking place at its Downtown Disney attraction. In case you've never been there, it's an open space with lots of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. Disney has a no-loitering policy in place there, though it seems like it would be somewhat difficult to enforce due to the way it's set up.

Over the past two weekends, Disney really "turned up the heat", and ended up issuing 48 warnings in that timespan. They also ejected and permanently banned 46 people during that time. It turns out that four of the people ejected and banned are top football prospects for the Florida State Seminoles.

"Walt Disney World ejected four of Florida State University's top football prospects from Downtown Disney last weekend under its anti-gang, no-loitering policy.

The four, including the son of a Disney manager and the son of a Philadelphia civil-rights lawyer, were banned for life from Disney World property late Friday.

A Disney spokeswoman said the youths were expelled because they had been loitering for an extended period and refused to leave when Disney security told them to."

The four kids are going to be seniors this fall, and have all made oral commitments to play for FSU. They are:

Vincent Williams: #10 ranked inside linebacker(rivals.com)

Avis Commack: #51 ranked wide receiver(rivals.com)

Nigel Carr: #3 ranked outside linebacker(rivals.com)

Nick Moody: #5 ranked safety(rivals.com)

While it would be easy for me to poke fun at FSU fans for their recruits getting trouble, it does sound like the Disney employees may have been engaging in some racial profiling. Per the Orlando Sentinel article:

"Three cases involved white teens. Of those, two were banned only from the Virgin Megastore and are free to return anytime to Disney. Records show the only white teen banned so far from Disney was accused of creating a disturbance outside the Planet Hollywood restaurant by loitering, arguing with Disney guards, swearing at them and refusing to leave the property."

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds because Moody's father is a civil rights attorney, and Williams' mother works for Disney. Oftentimes people complain(many times rightfully so) that athletes, and celebrities in general, don't get punished harshly enough, however in this case being an athlete that was punished harshly might serve the greater good if it's uncovered that Disney did engage in profiling, and the kids are able to return to the attraction and receive an apology.

Sonny Jurgensen Voices His Opinion On The Past And Present NFL

Recently, former NFL quarterback Sonny Jurgensen had an interview with Andrea Adelson at the Orlando Sentinel as part of their "State of Hall of Famers" series, and he had some interesting things to say about the past and present state of the NFL.

Currently, one of the biggest issues being addressed by the NFL is player health, and how concussions are dealt with. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has even gone as far as to mandate baseline neuropsychological tests, and to order all team medical personnel to attend seminars related to concussion detection and treatment. As an example of exactly how far the league has had to go to make changes, here's what Jurgensen said about how concussions were handled when he played:

"They didn't have concussions in my day," Jurgensen says. "You were dinged. You went to the sidelines, and the doctor would hold up three fingers and say, 'How many fingers do you see?' You always said 'three' because that's how many he'd always hold up."

Without fail, the doctor sent the players back onto the field after answering the question correctly. "Do you know how many times I had my lights put out?" Jurgensen says. "It's just a different game. A completely different game."

At first, the idea of always holding up three fingers sounds humorous until you realize that these guys were punishing their bodies game in and game out, and the very people employed to help them weren't doing anything of the sort. It's exactly why an organization like "Gridiron Greats" is so adamant about getting assistance for former players.

Jurgensen also had an interesting view on how the league has changed over the years. Especially with regard to the young guys when they first come into the NFL<*cough*PacMan*cough*>:

"It was a privilege to be able to play professional football," he says. "I played 18 years and did something I enjoyed doing. It isn't that way anymore. It's an entitlement now. Guys come in the league, they get more money showing up for camp than I made in 18 years."

I guess it's safe to assume that Jurgensen never made it "rain", though with his arm strength it would have been more like "making it deluge".

Also, Jurgensen doesn't like the fact that much of the playcalling is being done by a guy in a booth indulging in stadium food:

"To give an example, it's third-and-10," Jurgensen says. "I need to make a play. What play am I going to call? I am going to call a play that I have confidence in. What is the coach calling? Is he calling something he likes?

"This is the crucial part of the game and this guy up in the booth having a hot dog and a Coke is calling the play instead of me? I don't like that."

Although, I think Sonny may have just assumed all coaches were like that. Bill Parcells actually called the plays on the field, and he ate a Cowboy Cheese Steak while housing Budweisers.
And steroids? Jurgensen said they weren't as prevalent when he played, and that the drug of choice was speed.

"The guys would congregate in this locker in the back," Jurgensen says. "I knew what they were doing. I'd see a guy walking to the water fountain with his hand cupped, and I'd go over and hit his hand and they'd come out on the floor. I'd go, 'Have a good game!'"

Unfortunately, if someone were to do that today they would probably get shot by someone's posse in the parking lot after the game.

Jurgensen's interview really gives a good insight into how far the NFL has come in certain respects, and how far it's seemingly regressed in others. It is a shame that some of the younger players seem to feel entitled to something just because they play pro football, and it's good to hear that former players don't appreciate it whatsoever. Hopefully the league will listen to them on a variety of subjects ranging from player health and benefits to personal conduct, and the NFL can shake off the bad press that it's accumulated in recent times.