JUST when you think the National Football League (NFL) is getting its act together, the teams and owners decide that they would rather stay stuck in their deluded world where second chances are given to the least-deserving people.

In the space of a week, two cases highlighted exactly why people are becoming disillusioned with the sport and why things need to change in a more progressive fashion.

San Francisco 49er Reuben Foster was a terrific college prospect but in the build-up to the 2017 draft there were a number of off-the-field issues which caused teams concern.

During the NFL combine, an event which rounds up the next batch of NFL players and puts them through their paces with various drills and interviews, Foster kicked up a huge fuss at a hospital waiting to be tested by teams.

It is alleged that he grew tired of waiting and felt “mistreated” because of the long waiting time, asking staff: “Do you know who I am?”

Classy.

This was enough to turn teams off drafting him early in the first round and, while the 49ers did select him in the later stages of the opening round, it was a fall from grace for the player.

This was put behind him with a stellar rookie season and it looked like he had got his act together.

But news broke last week of Foster being arrested a few months ago for beating up his girlfriend in February, in which he dragged her by her hair, physically threw her out of the house and punched her in the head eight to 10 times.

She suffered a ruptured eardrum in the assault.

Police also found an assault rifle on his property though those charges have since been dropped.

This wasn’t the first time Foster had been in trouble with the law.

Last January, he was charged for having marijuana on him, but this latest arrest is on a totally different scale.

While he has not been found guilty yet, the reaction, or lack of one, from the team is appalling.

They have said: “We will continue to follow this serious matter,” and “Reuben is aware that his place in our organisation is under great scrutiny and will depend on what is learned through the legal process.”

This is a team that cut starting cornerback Tremaine Brock 12 months ago, a day after he was arrested on a domestic violence charge involving his girlfriend.

So why was Brock cut immediately but the team are now willing to wait to see what happens with Foster?

To put it bluntly, Foster has better potential and the team are clearly worried about letting a player go who could be found innocent.

They can’t take a moral stance in April 2017 and then do a complete 180 in April 2018. Foster should have been let go the moment the team found out about this.

There are fans who have already cut ties with the player and are disappointed the team are waiting, regardless of how good he is.

Time and time again the NFL has shown that, if you are a special player, they will look past your transgressions and this needs to change.

They claim to be coming down hard on players involved in domestic violence, but they have been quiet on the Foster case so far.

Should he be found guilty, you would like to think Foster would have his contract with the franchise terminated as well as a hefty ban from the league, since NFL law mandates a six-game suspension for domestic-violence cases.

But you just never know what teams are thinking and it would not be surprising to see the 49ers stick by their player as they attempt to get him back on track.

Richard Sherman has only just joined the team, but he was at court with Foster where he said he was there “just here to support a teammate.”

That’s great, Sherman, but had this been Brock 12 months ago, would you be supporting him?

Did you support former teammate Trevone Boykin who was cut from your ex-team the Seattle Seahawks for allegedly breaking his girlfriend’s jaw?

The Seahawks didn’t wait last month when they released Boykin, severing ties with him straight away.

This meant they needed a new back-up quarterback and they scheduled Colin Kaepernick to come in for a workout.

But two weeks before Kaepernick was due in, they postponed the meeting.

Why?

The Seahawks didn’t like the fact the former 49er refused to say whether or not he planned to continue to kneel during the United States national anthem.

If that’s pivotal to the team, surely it’s the first question they ask before planning the workout or wait until you have him in the building and talk to him then.

It is rumoured that, when Kaepernick was asked about his plans during the anthem, his response was that he was focused on football and wasn’t going to agree to preconditions.

What’s wrong with that?

To try to argue that Kaepernick’s continued struggle to find a job in the league is based on his quarterback play and not his protest is laughable.

The player didn’t even get a chance to show what he can do before the anthem protest killed any hopes of him getting a job.

The Seahawks claim they are still interested, but they have signed two players in his position, one who has never played a competitive down in the league.

This was a chance for the Seattle franchise to show that they are still one of the more progressive teams in the league after getting rid of their more vocal players.

Not only has Sherman departed but Michael Bennett was also traded away.

Bennett is one of the most forward-thinking players in the league and has never been afraid to use his platform to speak out against the continued injustices ethnic minorities continue to face in the US.

But perhaps the rumours are true. The Seahawks want a “quieter” dressing room next season and adding Kaepernick would be the opposite of what they want.

God forbid the NFL signs a man who wants to make not only his country but the world a better place.

Instead they will keep giving players accused of beating up their partners another chance, regardless of whether they deserve it or not.