Von Miller’s willful disregard of his circumstances is a slap in the face to the Broncos and their fans.
“Some say that it is unfair to hold Von Miller to a “higher standard” than we might our friends and neighbors – that he’s entitled to the same imperfections we all have. But Von Miller is a professional athlete and a public figure and is therefore under a microscope, fair or not. “
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Anywhere Broncos fans gather you’ll see orange jerseys with the number 58 on the backs of them, the name “Miller” spelled out above. Denver’s young linebacker is widely considered to be the best defensive player on the team and its second-biggest star behind Peyton Manning. If merchandise sales are any indication, Von Miller is among the most admired athletes along the Front Range. But he is no longer worthy of admiration.
Von Miller’s willful disregard of his circumstances is a slap in the face to the Denver Broncos and their fans.
Yet another embarrassing story about Miller has snuck out from the safe shadows of the Denver Broncos PR department. Miller had yet another confrontation with the law. He made yet another “mistake” in clear defiance of the dictum that he keeps his nose clean while serving a six game NFL mandated suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He was already unavailable to help his team reach its lofty goals and now he has spit in the Broncos faces.
While neither of Miller’s lesser transgressions (blowing off a court appearance and driving under suspension / revocation) rank among the most shocking things Denver’s pro athletes of done, they speak to an arrogance and a “do you know who I am” mentality that could mean he’s not a very good fit for the Broncos.
Miller was certainly aware when he was busted driving last week that his license was suspended. He knew he was breaking the law. He just didn’t care – about the public’s perception of him, his standing with his employers or what further legal entanglements could mean to his playing status. He made a conscious decision to ignore all those things.
Some say that it is unfair to hold Von Miller to a “higher standard” than we might our friends and neighbors – that he’s entitled to the same imperfections we all have. But Von Miller is a professional athlete and a public figure and is therefore under a microscope, fair or not. He’s also richly compensated for carrying such a burden, so advocates can spare us the parallels to Joe six pack.
Categorizing Miller’s continued failures to fall in line with the expectations that are reasonably placed on him by the Broncos and their fans as “mistakes” is a cop out. There is simply no excusing him, unless one is to blame faulty child rearing. His father was in the car with him, after all, when he was pulled over and cited for driving illegally. Dad could have lent him some better advice.
Assuming Von Miller understands his own importance to the Denver Broncos and role he plays in their future successes, his disregard for the law can only be categorized as a self-centered lack of concern for the common good. Many people are counting on him. Any good he has done in our community is outweighed by the awful example he is setting for his team mates and for our children. Von is not walking the walk. We’re counting on him to be a leader and he is simply failing us. And after we spent good money on these jerseys.
