Image-Obsessed: The NFL and Racism

The NFL is expected to adopt a resolution that would impose a fifteen-yard penalty on any player who uses a racial slur during a game.  Some might say that while this measure is not sufficient, it is a step in the right direction.  I don’t think we can even consider it that.  Reducing this problem to a fifteen-yard penalty will not solve anything.  Is creating on-the-field incentives not to be racist really the correct route to take?  No. It’s not.  Instead, the NFL must create an ethos of intolerance toward this sort of behavior.  This culture cannot be created on the field.  Obeying the rules for reasons of self-interest does not translate into true and meaningful change.  This is yet another instance of the NFL caring more about its image than about trying to change its ways.