Do you think the glorification of violence is the only they can have some fun? Football is only a game and while to you and me that gladiator stuff is "harmless", it isn't for many.
You need only look at all the women who wore Rice jerseys to the Viking game and supported his actions. In any other setting those same women would have been pillorying him. I understand the point you're making but your method is unsupportable by me. I support a relaxation of many of the restrictions but not this one. The NFL players don't seem to have had too much trouble having fun up until now without that right?