Football becomes less disappointing when you stop putting players up on a pedestal to the point that you are surprised or let down when they use racial slurs or just plain bad language.
The Patriots aren't some special team free of jerks. The percentage of *******s on the Patriots is pretty much in keeping with the rest of the league.
I don't know why anyone thinks that a bunch of overpaid manchildren would all magically know how to behave themselves.
Regardless, Bruschi didn't call anyone a ***. He wanted the flag thrown on Shaun Ellis for taking his helmet off.
Again, this is in the hypothetical as I did not hear him past the f-bomb (which may be edited out and still be obvious - I was just surprised to hear it). My criticism would be (1) Bruschi is a veteran, (2) I guarantee you he has had at least 15 years worth of lectures on dealing with the media preaching against screaming derogatory words on the field, thus (3) he should not be acting in a way he was taught not to act since he was a rookie.
If he did it, do I think less of him as a player? No. It was a mistake. If he did it, is he hearing about it this week? Bet on it. This team does not need scandal, and if the Imus or John Rocker stories are not an indication how a brief, public statement can blow up in the speaker's face after a derogatory reference, review your history. More importantly, I am quite sure Bruschi, whose young kids may well be watching him on television, would not be pleased with the result.
In the end, I place far more blame the network as I thought there was a delay requirement after the Janet Jackson saga. That statement clearly should not have been broadcast, so somebody dropped the ball and as a result the FCC will probably be sending the network a bill.
Nobody says these guys are choir boys, cosmopolitan, scholars or necessarily likable, but they do stand in front of a live audience. The hero worship that fans, including kids, exhibit requires that they act accordingly, especially when kids may be watching and adults do not want to have to define new words unexpectedly presented or have to explain why two adults are throwing nasty words at each other when they were taught not to do so. Television is not reality. Let kids have their heroes and grow cynical through life experience. I suspect you did not reach this awakening by having your hero kick you to the curb or show his dark side when you were still a kid (I recall '70s football as extremely civil on television despite nonfiction accounts to the contrary), so let's leave the picture to images of Tedy running around on the field playing with his kids and leave the gritty reality out of it.
