On Tuesday, billion-dollar beer company Anheuser-Busch fired a shot across the bow at the NFL for its current domestic violence problem. One of the NFL’s employees has fired back.
“We are disappointed and increasingly concerned by the recent incidents that have overshadowed this NFL season,” Anheuser-Busch said in a statement. “We are not yet satisfied with the league’s handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code. We have shared our concerns and expectations with the league.”
Texans running back Arian Foster thinks Anheuser-Busch is being a tad hypocritical.
“Selling poison on that high horse,” Foster said on Twitter. “Domestic violence and alcohol damn near synonymous.”
While drinking doesn’t cause domestic violence, the impaired brain function from excessive alcohol consumption can lead to all sorts of problems. Ray Rice, for example, was reportedly intoxicated on the night he knocked out his then-fiancée, now wife. (She reportedly was, too.)
The broader point is that the companies that sell alcohol, which leads to a wide array of unfortunate behaviors, may not have the best standing to preach about a “moral code.” Beer companies simply want to sell as much beer as they can, even if it means that too many people are drinking too much of it.
They tell you to drink responsibly in the fine print. The overriding message is drink. And if the drink contributes to a decision to do something you shouldn’t, well, you’re on your own, Sparky.