Stupidity

I am generally not one to criticize, but I just read an article about a football player, Troy Williamson of the Minnesota Vikings, who was docked $25,000+ for missing last Sunday's game to attend his maternal grandmother funeral (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3100835), and was blown away. I don't know about anyone else, but I find this absolutely absurd -- who the hell docks someone pay for attending the funeral of a family member?? I understand punishing someone for juvenile, illegal and/or asinine decisions/behavior, but penalizing someone for attending a funeral is downright offensive. We, as a society, need to recognize a mature, adult decision when we see one. Instead of suiting up on Sunday to play a GAME, this man took it upon himself to be with his family in a time of need, to arrange a funeral for the woman who helped raise him, to make travel plans for his siblings who are serving this country as members of the armed forces, and to take time to grieve. This is wrong, plain and simple. I have never been a Vikings fan, nor have I ever rooted against them, but this one act has turned me into an ardent non-supporter of this organization (the same organization that continued to pay players a few years back who were allegedly involved in the "sex boat" scandal(two players were ultimately fined by the NFL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Minnesota_Vikings_boat_cruise_scandal)). This is what is wrong with sports, and I truly hope I am not the only person outraged by this decision.