Put Up or Shut Up

When exactly did the NFL invent patriotism?  Judging from yesterday’s Bears-Lions’ game, I’d say 1776 or thereabouts.

Flags, jets, Terry Bradshaw and pals surrounded by active-duty personnel—football does love the military, up to a point.  I noticed at least one advertiser who mentioned their veterans-employment policy, but nothing from the NFL in that regard.

Yes, Pat Tillman walked away from an NFL career, never to return.  What about all those veterans who do?  How committed is Commissioner Roger Goodell to hiring them?  What are the job numbers, for the commissioner’s office and the individual teams?  Nobody expects coaching staffs to be filled with former Marines and Rangers, but what about the business departments, the video staffs?

Like the saying goes, don’t tell me, show me.  Numbers don’t lie.