So, I'm watching the Twins 3rd game of the new season (which started on Monday) against the Seattle Mariners and it got me thinking. How much do professional athletic leagues and associations spend on PR for their players and teams a year? Whether it's promoting their games and their teams or "covering up" scandals and screw-ups stirred up and made by players.

I found an article in The Herald by Cornerstone University. The title intrigued me. "Pro-athletes Are Poor Examples When It Comes To Laws." That's EXACTLY what I was looking for! It starts out immediately by questioning why pro-athletes always seem to receive a "get-out-of-jail-free-card" when, if a "regular person" commits the infractions they commit, we either: go to jail, pay an outlandish fine and go to jail, just pay a fine, or get an extreme amount of community service. Now, does that seem fair? It's always been something that gets on my nerves when it's in the news seemingly all the time. They receive a slap on the wrist, maybe pay a small fine, and are back playing their given sport within a week or two. They drive drunk, they assault people, they carry around illegal weapons, they take steroids and illegal drugs, they abuse animal, they steal, they've been called on domestic violence, and a few have even been involved in or committed murder. Many pro-athletes admit that they carry concealed weapons while in public. They claim that they are at more of a risk of an attack than the average person. I personally think that's just a mouthful because every person is at risk at all times of being attacked. Whether it's a mugging, a kidnapping, a rape, an assault, whatever it may be, we're all always at risk. We all have a right to be protected but that doesn't mean that every Average Joe should walk around with a concealed weapon. Do you have any idea how many more deaths would come from conflicts if guns were involved in every one?

Here are the top 10 pro-athlete arrests of all time.

1. Eddie Belfour, goalie, Dallas Stars, 3-21-2000
2. Eugene Robinson, safety, Atlanta Falcons, 1-30-1999
3. Dick Williams, former Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners manager, 1-17-2000
4. Pedro Guerrero, former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, 6-7-2000
5. Michael Irvin, wide receiver, Dallas Cowboys, 8-8-2000
6. Kevin Mitchell, former Major League outfielder, 8-31-1999
7. Mark Ingram, wide receiver, Miami Dolphins, 1-23-2001
8. Ruben Patterson, forward, Seattle Supersonics, 9-20-2000
9. Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire, co-captains, Portland Trail Blazers, 11-22-02
10. Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, former LA Lakers center, 7-18-2000