The NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry and, according to ESPN, “the most popular sport in the US.” With so many people watching the sport and paying attention year-round, every player and coach is under a microscope. Lately, many players have gotten into legal trouble.

Problems began before the season did. At the start of training camp, all-star running back Ray Rice was accused of hitting his girlfriend (now wife) after a video of him dragging her out of an elevator surfaced on the Internet. Rice was suspended for two games. Some of the NFL owners were upset with the ruling, saying it was not enough. Commissioner Roger Goodell is undergoing a lot of criticism about this issue and is now under even more pressure since a video of Ray Rice knocking out his wife inside the elevator surfaced.

Everyone is questioning whether Goodell knew about this video when he  handed out the first two-game suspension or if he really just found out about the video when the whole world did. Ray Rice is now suspended indefinitely and was released by Baltimore.

AZ Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer was arrested for aggravated assault for hitting his wife and throwing a shoe at his 18-month-old son. He is also suspended.

Other players who have not dressed at the beginning of the season  are 49ers DE Ray Mcdonald and Carolina Panthers allstar DT Greg Hardy who also committed acts of domestic violence on their girlfriends.

Adrian Peterson is one of the the NFL’s brightest and best running backs who just two years ago was nine yards short of breaking the single season rushing record. Now he’s no longer playing because he “disciplined” his 4-year-old son by hitting him with a switch nineteen times. Peterson is still with the Vikings but has not played since he turned himself in.

These events show us that even the richest and most famous NFL stars can lose everything they worked their who lives for. We can learn from their mistakes and not make the same in our lives that they did.