NFL players who think they’ve have too much to drink can still get a ride home through their work, but there’s a fairly large asterisk.
The NFL, which handed the no-charge Safe Rides program to the union due to concerns the league was using it to spy on players, points out at the league-owned website that the program hasn’t been disbanded. The NFL, citing the NFLPA director of security, explains that the program is still available to players.
Which raises an obvious question: How dumb do they think the players are?
Even in Manhattan, a cab ride home isn’t going to cost $85. (Unless, of course, the player has decided to commute from Philly for his night out.)
Making the replacement of the free service with a paid service even more amazing is that the NFLPA’s director of security claims that roughly 65 players per month use it.
The purpose of the free program is to provide players with extra incentive to make the call for a ride when they’ve been drinking. Our guess is that the players that have been using the No Free Rides program weren’t aware they’ll be billed for it later.
Or maybe they really are drunk. Otherwise, they’d realize a cab would be cheaper.