Picture this scenario: one professional football player leaps into the audience after scoring a touchdown, tosses his head back, raises his hands to the heavens and drowns in a wave of cheers and praise from thousands of fans in the stands. Meanwhile, another wistfully watches his contemporaries battle on Sundays from the flickering of his television at home, training relentlessly, waiting for a call from a team that may never come due to his reputation. 

One of them is facing a public sexual assault case, lawsuits for not paying assistants and employees and allegedly stealing a painting at a charity auction. The other chose not to stand for the national anthem after deciding to make a statement about the racism that is still so clearly ingrained in the fabric of American society today. 

Take a guess as to which player is which. You might see where this is going. 

Antonio Brown was released by the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) Sept. 20, after a saga that began 10 days earlier. He was accused of “forcibly raping” his former trainer Britney Taylor on May 20, 2018. Brown is one of the premier players in the entire league and it’s extremely problematic for the NFL to have such a star embroiled in such a controversial case. But it’s even more problematic that amidst these allegations, he was allowed to play a Sept. 15 game against the Miami Dolphins by both the New England Patriots and the league – which held a meeting on Sept. 11 to discuss rendering Brown inactive, somehow deciding it was a good idea to allow him to play. Yet ultimately, what makes the NFL’s handling of players like Brown who violate its “personal conduct policy” so convoluted is the story of Colin Kaepernick, who chose to take a public stand against police brutality and hasn’t been employed since. 

Kaepernick once led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl, owns as of Sept. 22 the 21st-best quarterback passer rating in NFL history and yet hasn’t been signed to a team since the end of the 2016 season. While Kaepernick’s lawsuit against the NFL for collusion likely hasn’t helped his standing with owners, this blackballing is still laughable when you consider the sheer amount of players still employed who have more blatantly problematic pasts. 

There’s Kareem Hunt, who will be cleared to retake the field in 2019 after an eight-game suspension – handed to him because video surfaced of him literally punching and kicking a woman. There’s Jameis Winston, who remains eligible to throw touchdowns every week, even after the league suspended him for three games in 2018 because he groped his Uber driver. And there’s Tyreek Hill, who didn’t even receive a suspension because the league determined him telling the mother of his children “You need to be terrified of me too, dumb (expletive)” after serious child abuse allegations wasn’t enough proof to violate their “Personal Conduct Policy.” 

How does this make sense? 

While the Patriots releasing Brown was certainly a step in the right direction, the NFL must continue to review how it deals with players who do violate this policy. Owners should take more accountability for the players they choose to represent their franchise, while focusing on the issues that truly matter. The league may be scared of making too strong of a political statement by employing Kaepernick – but maybe their focus should shift to the ethics of employing players that have been litigated for abuse, sexual assault and other personal issues.