The Crucible

Pop quiz time: Which war lasted the longest?

a. World War I

b. World War II

c. The Vietnam War

d. The Cold War

The correct answer is the Cold War. It lasted from 1947 to 1991, which is more than the other three wars combined. During the war, the United States’ main enemy was Soviet Russia and the Communist movement. At the time, Communism was seen as a horrible thing by Americans. Most of the general public feared communism and even believed that there were Communists among them. Soon, the paranoid Americans began accusing one another of being Communists. Eventually, people accused would be blacklisted from job opportunities and couldn’t be hired. This would happen to actor Arthur Miller who, after being unfairly accused of being a Communist, decided to write a play called “The Crucible.” He based it on the 1692 Salem Witch trials, in which people were accused of being witches and executed for it.

The Crucible follows John Proctor, a farmer who had an affair on his wife, Elizabeth, with a girl by the name of Abigail Williams. Abigail, now madly in love with John, gathers up a bunch of girls and tries to conjure up a spell that will kill Elizabeth. When they are spotted, they lie about it and claim that they saw many of the village’s adults with the devil, Elizabeth included. John, no longer interested in Abigail, tries very hard to clear his wife’s name, but in a twist of fate, is accused of being a witch himself and is executed. It’s a tragic tale and it teaches us a valuable lesson about power abuse. Many of the characters, such as Abigail and Reverend Parris, abuse their powers repeatedly to get the results they want. This isn’t the only time that a person has abused their power.

In fact, it happens all the time in the NFL. As there are many forms of power, anyone can commit power abuse, such as players, coaches, and even general managers. Let’s take a look at some times in which different forms of power have been abused by different people in the NFL.

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Le’veon Bell, Abigail Williams, and their Coercive Power

After a 2017 season that saw Le’veon Bell put up 1,900+ scrimmage yards and named as an All-Pro, the Steelers had a massive decision to make. Should they resign their superstar running back? Most believed the answer should be yes. This would include the Steelers, who offered Bell a 5-year deal worth $70 million. However, Bell believed he was worth more and used his coercive power to punish Pittsburgh for not paying him.

He decided to sit out the entire 2018 season. This affected the Steelers team in more than one way. Most importantly, they were forced to rely on a 2nd year running back who had never started a game and didn’t even have more than 150 rushing yards. The entire rushing offense would fall apart in 2018, as after ranking 20th the year prior, they ranked 31st in that category.

Another aspect Bell affected was locker room morale. Many of his teammates weren’t happy about the situation and it resulted in them raiding his locker. The morale became even worse when team captain Ben Roethlisberger and superstar receiver Antonio Brown couldn’t coexist in the same offense anymore. That offseason, Brown and Bell both left the team.

After the Steelers neglected to give Le’veon the money he wanted, he punished the team by not playing for them and being a key reason as to why the Steelers missed the playoffs in 2018.

This form of power abuse was used by Abigail Williams in the play. Because she is the oldest of the girls who were in the woods, she is the leader of them and can punish them for not agreeing with her. She shows this when Mary and Betty are both considering telling Reverend Parris the truth. She shows this again when Mary is testifying against her and the other girls in court.

Nick Foles, John Proctor, and their Referent Power

2018 was a very frustrating year for the Jacksonville Jaguars. After making the AFC Championship game a season earlier, Jacksonville finished last in their division. Blake Bortles simply could not lead the Jaguars offense. That offseason, they cut ties with the former 3rd overall pick and started looking for a quarterback again.

One noteworthy free agent was former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. Foles had previously had success with the Eagles, most notably leading them to a Super Bowl victory in 2017. With the referent power that came with winning a Super Bowl, Foles received a massive pay day.

Jacksonville signed Foles to a 4-year, $88 million contract. They believed Foles was the answer and would lead them back to the postseason. However, that’s not how it went down. Foles would be injured in a week one start against the Chiefs. Rookie quarterback Gardener Minshew came in and played really well for a sixth-round pick. Despite Minshew’s solid play, the Jaguars decided to go back to Foles in the hope he could save their season. He could not.

Foles struggled tremendously after coming back from his injury, losing all 4 of his starts that season and only throwing 3 touchdowns during his starts. After only one season in Jacksonville, the Jaguars dealt Foles to the Bears the following offseason.

Referent power was used by a few characters in The Crucible, most notably John Proctor. Proctor was respected by everyone because he was an independent person in a community that was built on conformity. Because of this, he’s able to do things like threaten Mary Warren into testifying against Abigail and get away with not going to church on Sundays.

Bill O’Brien, Reverend Parris, and their Legitimate Power

The Texans needed a general manager after being caught trying to tamper with Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio. With no other options, Houston decided to have a GM by committee and named head coach Bill O’Brien as the de-facto general manager. In his first year as GM, O’Brien had a very interesting season. He traded his former first overall pick for table scraps while trading a haul for a good, not great offensive tackle.

Houston’s season ended heartbreakingly as they blew a 24 point lead to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs. Despite the loss, morale was still high for the Texans. They had more than enough talent to make the postseason once again in 2020, but then…

disaster struck.

O’Brien believed DeAndre had too much power over the locker room and compared the receiver to Aaron Hernandez. Their relationship was unsalvageable. With his legitimate power in hand, O’Brien decided to make sure Hopkins would never challenge him again. The receiver was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a second-round draft pick, fourth-round draft pick, and running back David Johnson. For an All-Pro receiver who was only 27, this felt like a very underwhelming return. And it was.

In his first year with the Cardinals, Hopkins accumulated over 1,000 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. He also helped the Cardinals ing offense go from 24th in 2019 to 17th in 2020. While the Texans ing offense got better statistically in 2020, which is more of a testimony to how putrid their rushing attack is, their record plummeted from 11-5 to 4-12. O’Brien was fired by the team after a week 4 loss, their fourth straight loss of the season.

Like O’Brien, Reverend Parris abuses his legitimate power a lot. Because his power only comes from his position, Reverend Parris constantly worries about his reputation amongst the town. This shows when he immediately doubts Mary’s testimony because it would make the girls look like liars and would make him look bad because his daughter is among those girls. He also unjustly executes all of those who were accused of being witches.

Power abuse is a common occurrence in today’s world. It’s been around for thousands of years and because of the many different powers that can be used, it’s not an issue that’ll go away anytime soon.

Thanks to GSH for the thumbnail!