This week, the San Francisco 49ers parted ways with linebacker Reuben Foster. Long on talent, short on character, the 24-year-old was arrested in Tampa on Saturday on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. It was his second involving the same woman, who recanted the previous charge in court in May.

Foster has a history of being on the wrong side of the law. Transgressions include a misdemeanor weapons charge and misdemeanor marijuana possession. According to the Washington Post, “As a prospect at the 2017 scouting combine — the most important job interview of his life — Foster got into an altercation with a hospital employee and reportedly failed a drug test because of a diluted sample.”

Nobody should be looking at the NFL as a haven for “family values.” It’s greed is unrivaled. It has long turned a blind eye to the physical toll on the players. It has allowed a conversation on police brutality to be co-opted and muted, and is facing a collusion grievance from the voice of that protest. It has harbored a rogues’ gallery of shady characters, only in the rarest of cases banning players from the game. Still, 31 teams decided Foster was too hot to touch, despite his potential all-pro upside.

Enter the Washington Redskins.

I don’t want to pick on the Redskins. Yeah, I’m a Philly guy, and I like whomping on the NFC East. But Redskins fans have enough pain without me piling on. The fanbase has been forced to watch Dan Snyder’s destruction of a once-great organization. Throw in the controversy over the nickname, that’s enough. And we have our own questionable past. Besides, while the Redskins are the culprit on this one, it’s really reflective on the NFL’s values as a whole, and what they say about us.

USA Today keeps an NFL arrest database. It’s interesting reading. The first shocker is the number, obviously. Then the number of unresolved situations. On a grander scale, how many of these incidents received attention outside of regional coverage?

It should be enough to spark outrage, yet it will barely cause a ripple.

After all, it didn’t cause widespread concern when a study of 202 deceased football players showed 110 of 111 former NFL players were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative disease believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head.

Neither did a study on paid patriotism released in 2015 by Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake which found the Department of Defense paid 18 National Football League teams, 10 Major League Baseball teams, eight National Basketball Association teams, six National Hockey League teams and eight Major League Soccer teams a total of $6.8 million for troop tributes, military field ceremonies, player appearances and VIP passes.

In fact, the only issue that has really raised a stink has been the anthem protests. Think about that. Not brain damage or deaths, or pretend patriotism, or murder or beating women. The only real #BoycotNFL movement took flight because of a political gesture.

And while I was open-minded about the anthem, I’m as guilty of it as the next guy. I rooted for my Eagles, and celebrated a Super Bowl, despite knowing all of the above.

It is important to note the Redskins are playing the long game here: Foster was placed on the NFL’s commissioner’s exempt list pending a league investigation, so it is unlikely he will play this year. And that’s the right thing to do. But I can’t help thinking the NFL needs to set a higher standard than the bottom line, and the sad fact is it won’t do so, because we don’t hold it accountable.

No, it would be easy to blame the NFL. Easy to blame the Redskins. In the end, this is on us.

Cue dramatic “democracy in action” music -- Well, that’s another election night in the books. I’ve done my share in more than 25 years in the news business, yet it still gets me going. Back then there were a few more people in the newsroom, it took a few more cold cuts and pizza. Now it’s a lot smaller, and I miss my folks.

As far as a “blue wave,” this one struck me as more in line with a typical midterm. Certainly not the rebuke on Trumpism some expected, but rather an adjustment to a changing landscape. State elections next year, and 2020, when elections favor Democrats, should be more indicative of what the trends will be. Regardless, I, for one, will be glad to have at least one check on Republican leadership, even if I have serious reservations about the other guys, too.

But really, enough beating around the bush. The best story of the election has to be that Dennis Hof, who called himself the “Trump of Pahrump,” was just elected to the Nevada state assembly even though he's dead. Hof was found dead the morning after his birthday party by porn star Ron Jeremy, a close friend. If I remember correctly, Flava Flav and Sheriff Joe were at this same shindig. This is the stuff of dreams!

Trump and friends — Speaking of the elections, I’m not sure I have ever seen a display as disgraceful as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and “Judge” Pirro on stage stumping at a campaign rally. This is what you get when you consider entertainers deliverers of news. This violates anything that is sacred about covering something, and the worst part? No one cares. This may as well be state-run media. Pathetic. Rule #1 about being a journalist: Don’t become part of the story. Talk about making it harder for Chris Wallace and Shep Smith. Fox says they have slapped somebody’s hands. Uh-huh. BTW, Jim Acosta, are you listening?

Scouts? — In an effort to appeal to a wider audience and be less male oriented, the Boy Scouts want to drop “Boy” from their name. Now, before anyone goes off the reservation, I feel anyone should have the opportunity to camp and go to jamborees. That’s not the point here. The point is there has been significant blowback from another organization, and frankly, I can’t really blame them. Yes, the Girl Scouts, who feel the rebranding effort might be aim just a little at undercutting them. They’re suing.

#meetoo -- OK, this is one of those “… really?” stories. Apparently, #metoo has caught up to Under Armour, which will no longer allow employees to charge strip club expenses to corporate cards… … … ok, I’ve got nothing. First the Secret Service, now Under Armour. The times, they are a changin’

For Pete’s sake — Pete Davidson, the guy who looks to be about 8-years-old on Saturday night live got into a heap of doggie doo for poking fun at former SEAL turned politician Dan Crenshaw on Weekend Update last week. Yes, it crossed a line, and was unfortunate, but hardly unexpected. He’s an awkward comic. It’s his shtick, The smartass SNL usually has one in the cast. He says things other may not say. As such, he has to push the envelope. Keep in mind, the kid’s 24. For as long as he can remember we have been at war. He has nothing to compare it to. This kind of desensitization had to be expected. Most don’t even consider on a daily basis we are a nation at war, only at a ballgame or special occasion where warriors can be deified for a few moments. We really need to be thinking about the effect endless war has on society as a whole, because we are losing something that used to inspire us to avoid it at all costs.

At any rate, fresh from his victory, Crenshaw had this to say, "SEALs don't get offended. That's just not what we do. That doesn't mean it wasn't offensive, but let's stop demanding apologies and firings of people. Let's just... demand that comedy actually be funny, but let's be good people."

Amen brother. Read more...

Shameless self promotion -- And, finally, I’m not one who is into shameless self promotion, but this was an interesting discussion on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. It’s all about the fact that in the past decade and a half, nearly one in five newspapers have disappeared, leaving communities without newspapers, and what effect that has on civic engagement and trust in the media. Community journalism is always a favorite topic. Runs about 40 minutes. Worth a listen…