The Super Bowl is over, or so I’ve heard. Good. Ray Charles did a great rendition of “America” and then it was on to “Faulty Towers” on PBS.

There is only one way to speak out against the criminals of the NFL and the inane reaction to their crimes by the league: Don’t watch.

For commissioner Paul Tagliabue, it was an opportunity lost. In his annual state of the league address, he ranted at the press for reporting criminal statistics he said were incorrect. Rather than take the opportunity, for at least a moment, to grieve for those lives ended or forever altered because of criminal actions by his league’s players, he took the corporate low road and blamed the messenger.

It is entirely appropriate that he talks up the positives of the players and cites them as worthy heroes. It is entirely inappropriate to dismiss criminal acts by players as within the parameters of crime statistics for the U.S., which he did. That does not recognize the grievous harm done and sends a message to the players and the country that so long as crimes by players don’t exceed the national statistics, oh, well.

Worse yet, the winners of the Super Bowl, the Baltimore Ravens, were as bad an example of sportsmanship and class as any fan could hope not to watch. They were, as a group, thugs whose antics on and off the field throughout the year were an embarrassment to themselves and the league.

Ray Lewis, the Ravens linebacker, pled guilty to obstruction of justice in a double-murder case. What is he doing on the field for another game, any game? He was fined $250,000 by the league. Big deal.

The league, as with any business, is free to take actions against an employee for his conduct without regard to what the court system does with a criminal case. Tagliabue said he acted based on Lewis’ plea, not conjecture or speculation. That is all well and good.

However, the league had an obligation to investigate on its own. Such action is not a criminal investigation, but one to determine what action is appropriate from the league for Lewis’ involvement in those murder cases.

There is no question of the continuing message being sent to athletes at every level in this country. The O.J. Simpson fiasco and Lewis’ case are just the leading edge of a growing trend of criminal acts by athletes. Because the athletes make enormous sums of money for the colleges and the leagues, they are sheltered from responsibility.

The other trend that fuels this protection of irresponsibility is this society’s worshipping of athletes, the money they make and the notoriety they get. We are surrounded every day in every way by a society obsessed with false hype and sensationalism.

Tagliabue is right when he says the NFL reflects society. The sad part he is willing to let that happen instead of seeking a higher road as an example of what should be rather than what is.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and CBS sportscaster.