Players Reportedly Think The Way Gronk Gets Treated By The NFL Is A Big Double Standard

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Rob Gronkowski has been having himself an offseason for the ages.

He’s been hanging with fitness models, stealing Tom Brady’s jersey on Opening Day at Fenway, jumping into the ring at WrestleMania 33, destroying South Beach, and making 69 jokes on live TV at the Daytona 500, among other things.

However, some players in the NFL feel that if it were them making a spectacle of themselves the way Gronk does they would be hearing about it from the NFL. Instead the NFL and the Patriots have even gone as far as to give their blessing for him to jump into a WWE ring, not too long after having season-ending back surgery.

And you know what? They’re right. But why? Is it a race issue? A “winner’s” issue? The fact that, so far, he hasn’t broken any laws *cough*?

Speaking to four NFL players, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, shared these players’ thoughts on Gronk and the way he’s treated by the NFL…

What sets Gronk apart from other players is how he parties in a highly public manner. It isn’t hard to find a long list of such moments.

That’s great. I wish all players did this. They should be allowed to party as much as they want and be as public as they want.

However, I recently heard from four players, two from each conference, who all wondered if Gronkowski is held to a different standard than others in the league.

None wanted to be quoted, even on an off-the-record basis, but each made the point that they didn’t think a player such as Cam Newton could do what Gronk does without public backlash.

Remember, a mother wrote a letter of complaint about Newton for, well, basically doing nothing more than strutting around a football field. Quarterbacks are held to a higher standard, but the players I spoke to noted Newton, in particular, could never have the kind of public life Gronkowski lives.

To be fair, Tony Romo was once criticized for going to Cabo San Lucas the week before a playoff game against the Giants. But Odell Beckham also was ripped for partying before a Giants playoff game this past season against Green Bay.

While Gronk hasn’t technically done anything wrong, they do have a point. Do you really think some of the other players in the NFL could get away with these things and not hear about it?

Doubtful.

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