Fans Cheering Cassel Getting Injured is Abombinable

Some fans of the Kansas City Chiefs cheered as their quarterback Matt Cassel lay on the ground at Arrowhead Stadium. (John Ringer)

I am as big of a sports fan as most anyone I know. I have to admit that there have been times were I have crossed the line morally when cheering for my teams. My love for a certain team has for instance caused to feel a sense of joy when a player on a team I dislike is injured or struggles. Let me be clear. That is wrong, and I shouldn't feel that way. However, as humans we are competitive by nature. This isn't an excuse. This is merely a factual statement about our depravity as human beings. We must do our best to overcome that to love another as we would want to be loved ourselves.

I know that I am not alone in my weakness. There have been well known instances where fans have openly cheered an injury or misfortune of an opposing player. A famous example would be when Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin lay motionless on the field in Philadelphia in 1999. Eagles fans cheered the whole time. The then Mayor of Philadelphia Edward Rendell described it as "in terms of bad taste was as bad as it gets."

Sadly fans took it one step further Sunday. Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, has long been considered one of the NFL's most difficult venues to play in because of the passion and loudness of the home crowd. That home crowd turned against one of its own Sunday. Quarterback Matt Cassel has never been endeared by Kansas City sports fans. They booed him when he threw out the first pitch at the MLB All-Star Game in July.

Sunday, the fans found a new way to express their disdain for Cassel. In the game, the quarterback stepped back in the pocket to throw. He got leveled by Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. As Cassel lay motionless on the ground, many Chiefs fans began to loudly cheer and clap. They were openly happy that their own player was seriously injured on the football field.

This I simply cannot comprehend. I was born a New York Yankees fan. Few Yankees players have frustrated me as much as A.J. Burnett did. His inconsistency was a thorn in the side of the team for the duration of his stint. However, I never doubted the effort he gave. I always cheered for him to pitch well. After all, he was a Yankee. The Yankees are my team to cheer for. That means he is my player to support as well.

This season Burnett had an excellent year for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I couldn't be happier for him. I know how much he wanted to put up those kind of numbers in the Bronx. His game and temperament simply were not suited for life in the Big Apple. I hope he continues to succeed in Pittsburgh. I believe he is capable of helping to lead the Pirates to a playoff berth within the next few years.

Bringing this back to Cassel, as badly as Burnett played at times, I never hoped he would get hurt. It is so morally wrong for one to hope that another would get injured for one's one benefit. I loved how Chiefs offensive tackle Eric Winston stood up for his quarterback. If you haven't seen the video, you need to watch it.

One of the main points Winston made was that, "It's 100 percent sickening. I've never, ever -- and I've been in some rough times on some rough teams -- I've never been more embarrassed in my life to play football than that moment right there. Matt Cassel hasn't done anything to you people."

Winston was embarrassed to play the sport he loved. I am embarrassed as a fellow sports fan that this could happen. The problem is that this is a morally deeper problem than simply sports. The incident manifested itself in sports, but sports is not in and of itself the root cause for it. Sports is merely the avenue through which it was brought to life.

President Barack Obama is strongly liked and disliked by many people. If he were to be assassinated, I believe that there would be people that would be openly pleased by this. In fact, I don't just believe it from prior experience, but I can almost certainly guarantee it. This is truly tragic. We have been so morally corrupted as human beings. We look at our own interests before the well being of others in so many ways.

My plea to you is this: Don't applaud the misfortunes of others and don't allow others to do so unprovoked. This is not morally accepted behavior. I know that as humans we are not perfect, but that does not mean we cannot try to do what is right. Matt Cassel deserves to receive thousands of apologies from those who cheered for his injury. I must seek to do the same in my life. I have to live to a higher moral standard and help those around me to do the same.