It isn’t one or the other. We aren’t trading issues here, the point is that for all the off-the-field shit, NFL does a lot better at keeping players in line during the game.
There’s also a numerical difference in having a 54 man roster vs 23, never mind the influence socioeconomic background has- unfortunately more NFLers grow up with less, and shockingly that leads to more crime than a rich kid going to a private school so he can play more hockey. Not to excuse anything, just explaining why that tends to happen more in the football world- they’re still arrested less than the average American, as much as people love to vilify them.
But sure, Aaron Hernandez existed so Marchand can choke people.