NFL – Jakob Johnson fired again: That’s not how you treat people

By Chris Lugert

In the USA, the world works differently in many ways than it does here, including in sports.

Whether you’re a footballer, basketball player or handball player – anyone in Germany who is under contract with a club and is paid has a secure place and doesn’t have to worry about being on the street the next morning.

However, the facts are different in the NFL. The “hire and fire” mentality that is widespread in America – hiring someone in the knowledge that they can be fired at any time – is taken to extremes in the football league. The German professional Jakob Johnson is currently experiencing this questionable system on a weekly basis.

On Tuesday, just two days after he played in the New York Giants’ win over the Cleveland Browns, he was released by the franchise – not for the first time this season, but for the umpteenth time.

Since signing his first contract in New York a good six weeks ago, Johnson has been bouncing back and forth between the practice squad, the active roster and unemployment. This is a normal process in the NFL business. But that doesn’t mean that certain mechanisms in the league cannot be critically questioned.

Of course, players in the NFL also enjoy some advantages. It is common practice for professionals to be allowed to strike for new contracts. However, this usually only affects the top stars, who are difficult for a team to replace in terms of quality. Everyone else is replaceable.

Small lights like Johnson get no respect in the NFL

In short: Anyone who is a small fry in the NFL is treated like a commodity. There is no trace of humanity.

Tomorrow, players can be sent away at any time during the trade period without the relevant clauses and have to change their lives today without having any say in the matter. Others live with the constant fear that the current working day might already be their last.

The Johnson case, however, is taking this already questionable system to the extreme. The Giants apparently see the 29-year-old as predestined to be able to move him around inexpensively within the rules. But here, the human being should also be considered.

Yes, Johnson has a tough time as a fullback in the current NFL. His position is threatened with extinction, only a few teams still use a blocker for the running back. Johnson lacks the skillset for other positions, so it is certainly an honor for him to even be in the orbit of the best football league in the world.

But players like the Stuttgart native also have the right to be treated with respect. And respect also means being shown a clear perspective. Is the franchise planning on using a player or not?

The league’s appeal and the knowledge that millions of American teenagers would like to be in Johnson’s position at some point in the future do not give the NFL the right to treat people like toys that are thrown away when they are no longer needed.

The argument that the USA ticks differently and that the system works differently there is not enough of an excuse.