Contrary to what the NFL would like you to believe, they aren’t always the most upstanding, law-abiding group of individuals. I’m not only referring to players, but the people running these organizations all the way up to ownership.
Word of the Alvin Kamara story broke on Sunday, alleging he’d been involved in the beating of another man stemming from an incident at a nightclub early Sunday morning. Initial details were unclear, but that wasn’t the entire story.
The altercation took place early Saturday morning at Drai’s After Dark Club. The victim was interviewed by police Saturday evening around 6:30 p.m. But the NFL was made aware of the situation by Sunday morning, and still allowed Kamara to play in the game. He was then questioned and taken into custody after the game, around 2:56 p.m. local time. None of this came out until after all the festivities had wrapped up for the weekend.
On Monday, it was reported by Dana Gentry of the Nevada Current that Kamara had been a suspect of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department since early Sunday morning. The NFL was aware of this before the start of the game, which it nonetheless allowed Kamara to participate in.
“It was known that he (Kamara) would be participating in the Pro Bowl and was interviewed at Allegiant Stadium after the game,” Metro Police department told Gentry. “Subsequently, he was arrested and transported to the Clark County Detention Center.”
“We got in touch with NFL security about 10:00 in the morning and let them know that he (Kamara) was a suspect in the case, and they located him, and he was already on the field,” McGrath told the Current via phone. “So, they contacted him and he agreed to meet with us after the game. And so that’s just the way we did it since he was cooperating.”
So, LVMPD, alongside the NFL, cleared the way for a player that was a suspect in an ongoing investigation to play in this game. Would this have happened for your average everyday citizen involved in a nightclub incident like this? I’d doubt that. The incident occurred and Kamara is now going through the legal process. But shouldn’t the enablers also be held accountable? In this instance, the NFL and LVMPD. Professional gambler and philanthropist R.J. Cipriani (aka Robin Hood 702) has called out the corruption circulating through parts of Las Vegas for quite some time. He’s still fighting his battle with officials in the city.
“Too often the justice system in Las Vegas caters to the needs of wealthy and well connected individuals,” said Ozzie Fumo who’s running for Clark County District Attorney. If you or I assaulted someone, the police probably wouldn’t wait for us to finish dinner with our family before they arrest us. Yet they allowed Mr. Kamara to play in a major sporting event, even though they knew he committed an assault. We need equal justice under the law.”
What else is being covered up until a more convenient time for the NFL? One hand washes the other, right? The NFL’s corruption is no secret and knows no bounds. This song seems to be on repeat. We see it here with the LVMPD and Kamara, with Brian Flores’ claims that he was allegedly asked to lose games by the Miami Dolphins, and of course, everyone remembers Colin Kaepernick.
Upon reaching out to the league’s office for comment, Deadspin was told this by an NFL representative: “The matter will be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.”
This incident, combined with the others we’ve seen involving NFL players in Las Vegas, and it’s just business as usual for the league. The NFL and LVMPD are complicit in this and should be held responsible. Hopefully, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will have some answers about how this case was handled, as we are only days away from the Super Bowl. I doubt he will, but I guess we’ll find out soon.