Note to Sapp: Few slaves make $6.6-million

Human rights organizations are slow to defend defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who says the NFL is treating him like a "slave."

[Times photo:Toni L. Sandys]

Warren Sapp

The way Warren Sapp apparently sees it, his human rights have been violated.

Even before the National Football League fined him $50,000 Tuesday, citing a pattern of abusive conduct toward game officials, the Tampa Bay Buccaneer All-Pro defensive tackle complained the league had it in for him.

Two days earlier, Sapp, who is earning $6.6-million this season, likened his relationship to the NFL front office to that of a "slave" to a "slave master."

If you missed it, his comments followed a spat involving LaVar Arrington of the Washington Redskins. Arrington threatened retaliation if Sapp ran or jumped through the Redskins' pregame warmup line at FedEx Field, as he has done in the past.

The NFL responded by warning that a 15-yard penalty would be assessed on the opening kickoff if a player disrupted warmups - and that anyone involved in fighting would face ejection.

Sapp told Jay Glazer of cbs.sportsline before Sunday's game: "(Arrington) got what he wanted. He snitched, and the slave master came down. Stop a man from doing what he's been doing for nine years, and now there's a rule against me? . . . It's a slave system. Make no mistake about it. Slave master says you can't do it, then don't do it. They'll make an example out of you."

Human rights organizations aren't rushing to investigate.

"As a black man, working against slavery today, I believe the word slavery is bantered about far too much," said Tommy Calvert, chief of external operations for the American Anti-Slavery Group in Boston (www.iAbolish.com)

"And frankly, if more in the black community were attuned to the fact that there were 27-million people who are really enslaved, and would open their hearts to try to understand their own slave history and those who are still enslaved, they would not use such phrases or make such comments lightly. There is a reality out there of people toiling in the worst of circumstances.

"I mean, I understand (Sapp's) point about control and freedom," Calvert added. "At the same time, he should be respectful of the (other) team, and I think that's what the league is trying to accomplish. And I think that's fair. It does rub against our American individualistic grain to be so suppressed. But at the same time, I think there are probably better things he could be doing with his time (than disrupting warmups)."

Beth Herzfeld, spokeswoman for Anti-Slavery International in London, (www.antislavery.org) had no comment about Sapp or the incident, but addressed the language used.

"Actual slavery as we would imagine it does exist around the world today, and millions of women and children and men are enslaved, and that includes countries in the Far East and Africa, but also in the United States, where human trafficking and forced labor are a real issue. It's important for people to recognize whenever they use the term that slavery is a reality for millions of people today."

Added Jacob Patton of Free the Slaves in Washington, D.C. (www.freetheslaves.net):

"I do not question the sentiment behind Sapp's remarks. But it is important to acknowledge the fact that slavery does exist in this world, where people are exploited through violence and coercion."

Professor Rex Honey, associate director at the University of Iowa's Center for Human Rights (www.uichr.org) looked at Sapp's comments in a different light.

"I think the people who say we shouldn't be using such serious words in trivial things like this have a point," he said. "But Sapp is an entertainer. He is a very well-paid entertainer. So on the face of it, you just have to recognize where it's coming from. Sapp spouts off and says colorful things. This certainly has nothing to do with anything close to slavery, which is a very serious issue in the world today."

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