We were probably due.

The NFL handed down a bunch of punishments for player tampering this week. All sports are dealing with the side effects of the pro-gambling atmosphere they’ve been aggressively courting. At the same time, there is awkward situation with major media outlets misunderstanding the WNBA ecosystem.

Then came the real controversy of the week: Joey Chestnut is not being allowed to compete in the big hot dog eating competition.

Oh. Pardon me. I need to give it its full title, the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.

That formality, wordier than a college football bowl game official name, is why we’re here.

Chestnut, who set a record by eating 76 hot dogs in 2021, is not a Nathan’s Famous client. He has an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods, a company who sells plant-based meat, including hot dogs.

Major League Eating — yes, that’s a real organization — issued the ban, NPR quoting the organization’s decision in that Chestnut has “chosen to represent a rival brand.”

The official website of Major League Eating has not been updated in some time. Google isn’t helping me to know whether the problem is the company Chestnut reps or the contents of said company’s products. Would Major League Eating have an issue if Chestnut instead represented Bar S or Hebrew National?

Impossible Foods, for its part, apparently doesn’t care if Chestnut competed. A statement that company, reported by the Associated Press, is that “Meat eaters shouldn’t have to be exclusive to just one wiener.”

If only the world was that simple and blissfully peaceful.

Additional controversy stems from Major League Eating claim that it was Chestnut’s decision to step away, presumably by agreeing to sign with Impossible Foods. Chestnut disagrees the choice was his and that he found out via social media he wouldn’t be at the big competition on July 4.

Of course, it’s their competition. Major League Eating can ban pretty much anyone it wants. The world keeps turning’ Chestnut’s arteries (and intestines) are probably rejoicing about the reprieve.

Except.

Enter Netflix. The Associated Press is reporting that Chestnut will take on another hot dog-eating legend in Takeru Kobayashi in a competition streaming on Netflix.

Fantastically titled, “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef,” it will air live Sept. 2.

Kobayashi predates Chestnut in hot dog superstardom. In his first Nathan’s contest, Kobayashi smashed the previous record of 25 and a tad, putting away 50. He’s excelled elsewhere, including at a competition where I might could give him a run, eating Krystal hamburgers.

You haven’t seen Kobayashi in a while at the Nathan’s contest. He and Major League Eating are apparently in a beef and have been for more than a decade.

I wouldn’t be shocked if Chestnut is done with MLE if he does goes through with the contest with Kobayashi on Netflix. Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned players with mere association with unfavorable characters. and to Major League Eating, Kobayashi seems to be regarded much like suspect chili.

Maybe Chestnut relishes this. Maybe he wants to be through. Maybe this is a setup for a full-fledged schism in the world of professional eating. This could result in an ABA, USFL, AFL, WHL or Player’s League.

Most of those attempted professional sports usurpers brought something interesting to the table. Where this could go, I’m not sure. No matter, how it ends, I predict plenty of upset stomachs.