Can we switch Roger Goodell
This has been the worst 2 weeks for the NFL I have ever seen. Unbelievable. I won’t lie, I’m really enjoying watching the NFL finally get hit hard enough to stumble, and I hope at the end of all this mess Roger finds himself out of work. It’s nice to see the untouchable mega giant actually get slapped around a bit. Football and the NFL isn’t going anywhere, but taking it down a peg or two might be nice.
With the arrest of John Dwyer later yesterday I think this would be a good enough point to lay out some opinions and get mad at each other, so here are my thoughts on what’s gone down so far.
On Ray Rice:
I was against him from the start. For me, what sold me on his guilt was the way he carried his fiancee out of the elevator. He dragged her, let her head flop, and sort of kicked her legs out of the way of the door. It was not the actions of a man who got a lucky shot in during a squabble, it looked like the actions of a cold-hearted asshole. But I didn’t know what happened in the elevator, so I was willing to admit that maybe things went down as he said. I didn’t believe it, but I could see why people might give him the benefit of the doubt. When the second video dropped all I could think was “Wow, that was worse than I thought”. These days only idiots support Rice. The Rice situation has given me a lot of joy in some ways though, because I’ve never seen the NFL botch something so terribly. If Rice had been given a 6 game suspension from the start I think none of this PR nightmare would have happened. But they did, and from then on every subsequent suspension and punishment handed down from the league (like for Welker and Josh Gordon) was inevitably compared to Rice’s short suspension, even if the comparison wasn’t really fair because the crimes were unrelated. It kept the Ray Rice story in the news, so when that second video hit, hoo boy. Then we get reports they saw the video and lied, and now the NFL is hiding behind lawyers on that front. If Rice had been given a 6 game suspension, we would have had some homer Ravens fans calling foul at the start, but it would have died quickly enough and the second video dropping wouldn’t have been a big deal because everyone would have seen it and said “wow, maybe the NFL should have given him even more games off” instead of the outrage we got. Then these other cases wouldn’t have gotten so big, and the NFL could have quietly swept them under the rug.
The best part about this is that if the 2 game suspension was accurate for the rules and standards of the NFL, and Ray was given an accurate punishment for his crimes according to policy (even if that policy sucked), it makes the NFL banning him later an immoral move, because that is what’s called double jeopardy. You can’t punish someone further retroactively for a crime you already punished them for. The NFL will probably find some law loophole that says they can ban him for something lying about the attack, but that doesn’t change what the NFL did. I’ve never seen the NFL screw up this badly and it’s delightful.
On Adrian Peterson:
This is a weird situation. What Peterson did is child abuse, plain and simple. Just because he got whooped as a kid and turned out fine doesn’t make it alright. If you think hitting your child with a stick until he bleeds is just, then guess what, you didn’t “turn out fine”. I can understand a little swat or a spank, even if I wouldn’t do it myself (studies have shown how ineffective this is) but he made his child bleed. A 4 year old bled. Once you make your child bleed you can’t pretend it’s discipline. Once your child bleeds, that is goddamn child abuse (Bruises count, bruises are internal bleeding), and AP should be ashamed of himself. He did this to multiple kids, and this comes after he lost a child to child abuse just last year! Okay, so he doesn’t see this as abuse. All I hope for in AP is that after all this, he grows as a person and realizes that it is not okay to whip your small child with sticks until they bleed. It’s not okay. Science has shown just a few spankings cause mental issues down the road, society has moved on from physical discipline. Ignorance and your parents doing it does not make it okay. Parents are people too, they can be wrong. This is the year 2014. We aren’t barbarians anymore.
As for what to do with him, I really don’t know. I say keep him benched or deactivated. You can’t cut him, he’s facing charges not convicted yet. The Vikings have “deferred to the law” and basically said he can play. I don’t think this is fair, because it comes across as favoritism. If AP had been a nobody backup, he’d be cut and dumped quickly and efficiently. Because he’s important however, they are letting him play. I understand the Vikings want to keep him, but they can do so in ways that still punish the guy for his ignorance of modern parenting techniques.
On Johnathan Dwyer:
He’s a backup that isn’t that important. The Cards already deactivated him and may dump him altogether. He’s no AP. The exempt list that AP gets on is kind of bull.
Greg Hardy:
Not really sure what to make of this situation, nothing seems really clear at the moment yet. It seemed cut and dry but some folks who have followed it more seem to be mentioning things are less clear. Guess we need to let things play out here.
Ray McDonald:
The 49ers suspended a broadcaster for a Ray Rice comment. In the meantime Mr. McDonald continues to play. What the shit, 49ers?
On the NFL and Goodell:
I’m not a fan of Goodell at all. I feel like in the time he’s been in charge the NFL’s blatant attempts to grow and become even more money grubbing and disgusting have gotten worse. Part of me wonders if I feel that way because in his tenure I’ve matured from a dumb teen to functioning adult, but it seems like Goodell is pretty bad. I’d love to see him get ousted for this, because he’s a droopy blob faced man who isn’t fun to draw. With major sponsors making comments now, the money is finally in jeopardy, and if anything gets him ousted, it’s going to be the cash supply being threatened. But lets be real, Goodell is a stooge for the owners, and ousting him probably won’t change much. We’ll get a new guy who is also a stooge, because the owners are the real greedy people here, and we can’t do anything to oust them. But maybe we can get a slightly better stooge who cares less about fining people for the wrong colored socks and simplifying the rulebook so we don’t get a sea of yellow every weekend from here out.
The flags these past two weeks have been awful, and no matter what happens with the NFL, if they continue to put out this terrible product people are going to turn away.
I feel like it’s not just the fact that AP and Dwyer are a “face of the franchise” and “nobody backup”, respectively, it may also be the individual franchises dealing with the situation as well. The Giants straight up cut Will Hill for marijuana usage, while the Browns held on to Josh Gordon. Different franchises approach situations differently. I’m not saying it’s right, but that might explain some of the disparity when it comes to “deactivation”.
Incognitogate looks like small taters after these last two weeks. It’s like Jeff Ireland was commish right now.
i’ve heard people defend ap because “whooping” with a “switch” is either “a southern thing” or “a black thing” and calling measures taken against ap racist or arrogant against the south.
hey, let’s call murdering people “foomfing” and a gun a “shootytooty” and the claim that foomfing someone with a shootytooty is also a cultural thing!
these people make me wish i wasn’t on this planet anymore.
OK, time to play Devil’s Advocate. I’m from Houston, grew up and lived here all my life. Spanning your kids with a switch is pretty damn common and nobody will think of you as a monster for it. The intent is to discipline the kids, not make them bleed. AP is definitely in the wrong there, but only because the extent of the whooping exceeded its intent.
Your analogy also doesn’t work. A switch is intended to discipline. A gun is intended to kill or injure.
It also used to be okay to make black kids in Houston go to different schools and sit in the back of the bus and drink at separate waterfountains. That doesn’t make it right just because it’s the way things have been done.
“If you think hitting your child with a stick until he bleeds is just, then guess what, you didn’t “turn out fine”.”
🙂
Apologies for the (yet another) wall of text, but there’s really no way to briefly discuss this issue.
Here’s the thing:
What Rice and AP did was horrific (I haven’t delved deep into other situations, so probably also that). I’m not going to sit and play armchair psychologist on Janay Rice, and I am intensely aware of how victims of domestic violence often blame themselves and stay with abusers. I also know that when people get stupid drunk, they do stupid things. It needs investigated, legally, because if it’s a habitual thing, he needs locked up and removed from society. If it was a one-time thing, then it is an opportunity. It creates a dialogue, and it allows Rice to demonstrate repentance and become a force for change. People make mistakes, and Rice is frankly fortunate that his did not result in death or more harm– again, if it’s repeated, it’s not a mistake, it’s a habit. If it’s a one-time thing, it’s not excusable, it’s not pardonable, it’s wretched and deplorable, but we, as a society, can grow from it. Goodell has taken that opportunity, and flubbed it miserably. The JD has done almost as badly.
A similar event is here with AP. Again: what Peterson did was in no way anything close to acceptable. It was horrific, and looking at it made me sick. And then I read Peterson’s testimony, and I felt more sick. This was his life– this and worse. Think about that, and really let it sink in. When AP was a kid, this abuse is what he was told love is. Read that again: this is what Adrien Peterson was told love is. This is what he learned. He does not need condemnation, he needs pity. He needs education. And he is not alone: child abuse is not present in the majority of homes in America, but it is endemic nonetheless. Again, we have an opportunity if we don’t piss it away in the name of a quick clean up or impotent rage. Peterson needs help– everyone is concerned about his kid, and they should be. But Peterson *IS* that kid.
Professional athletes are admired and respected, and at times for good reasons. But as often, their problems– ego, psychological, upbringing, emotional– are left ignored because of their extraordinary physical abilities. A prominent case in point is Brandon Marshal. He was violent and disturbed. He assaulted (and was assaulted by) his wife. He was passed on as a problem because it was expedient, until the Bears decided they needed a WR, and someone (Thank God), took the time to realize, “Oh hey. He has a mental illness.” He got help, and his career– and far, far, far more importantly, his life– took a massive turn for the better.
That opportunity is here again. I agree with Dave that Adrien Peterson did not turn out alright. He is a victim of systematic and repeated abuse. He needs help, and he is, because of that, in a unique position to help. Like Marshal, he can become a success story if those in position to help make it so, and if he is willing to accept that role.
There’s a common phrase in Christianity, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” It is possible to empathize with Peterson– and even Rice– without in any way pardoning or condoning what they have done. In seeking to answer “why” and “how can this happen?” the greater issue is not solved by simply saying, “They’re douchebags.” I mean, in Peterson’s case, we know *EXACTLY* why he did what he did. He doesn’t think it’s abuse– not because he’s evil, but because he’s *tragic*.
And Dave: I did most of my post-grad studies on the impact of the football (generally) and the the NFL (as an organization in particular), on society. It’s a subject I’m pretty passionate about, and without a shred of doubt, Badell is the worst commissioner in NFL history, and one of the worst commissioners in American sports history. I gave him a long leash (I think the tone of my post tends to speak toward an optimism and willingness to see opportunity), but he has squandered every bit good will I ever had for him, and it is eroding the goodwill the NFL at large has built up with me. It’s not just that you matured in this era (though, admittedly, the internet has changed awareness of a great many things that were ignorable in the 1990s and before). But while Rozelle and Tagliabue dealt with scandal, they *tended* to confront it. They didn’t always do it well, but they tended to try. They were sometimes slow to act (including on issues of violence, domestic or otherwise), but they tended to. Badell has tried to wash everything under any rug he can find. Rozelle, and before him Bell, were particularly concerned with the long-term health of the NFL and its impact in society– as well as profitability. Tagliabue picked up that mantle, and did substantially better than he’s often given credit for. Badell has taken that, and reduced it to simply money *now*. He has missed every opportunity over the last several weeks to control the dialogue.
The NFL has issues with domestic violence, but that’s not an NFL issue: it’s an America issue. It’s a human issue. The NFL has less of a problem than America as a whole– that doesn’t mean it’s not a problem, but it does mean the NFL can be in a position to take leadership.
tl;dr: Domestic Violence is an incredibly complex issue, but education has consistently shown more power to confront it than has condemnation. The victims need protection, but that includes adult victims of it, and adults who were childhood victims of it. Badell and the NFL have done an incredibly and inexcusably poor job of addressing the issue over historically, but over the last several weeks in particular.
I probably should have made it clearer that I don’t hate Peterson after this. I still think Peterson is a stand up guy and he is generally a good person. He just has the exact opposite of proper parenting skills and I blame his development more than him.
Ray Rice I have less compassion for. I don’t think he hit her out of love. Hopefully he doesn’t do it again and hopefully it was a single instance. I hate to think about Janay if it wasn’t.
I think this changed response you’re putting is more nuanced and, I think, much more reasoned. I definitely feel that Rice needs investigated: psychology on DV victims (think Battered Wife Syndrome), can toss Janay’s testimony entirely. IF it’s a single, horrible incident, then we need to get the hell out of it and let the family recover from his wretched decision, though the NFL and law need to get involved (preferably with intervention programs to make sure that it never happens again, and to get some kind of community service so that Rice helps prevent others from going through/perpetrating it). IF, however, it’s habitual and this is not the first time, then Janay needs help, whether she wants it or not, and Rice needs jailed. I agree that there’s no “He hit her out of love”, and my empathy takes a whole different track with him vs. Peterson.
On the whole, though, I think the person that comes out of this looking the worst is Badell– he’s tried to sweep things under the rug too often, he’s either lied about not seeing the video, or he failed in his trust in not doing everything in his power to see it initially. He has failed to control the narrative, he’s failed to get ahead of it *IMMEDIATELY* and initiate not just a clumsy, heavy-handed, reactionary disciplinary memo, but a pledge to educate within the NFL, to help initiate service programs. The cost of all that is such a drop in the bucket for the NFL, and buys so much good will that the individual incidents costs. Plus– and this is important– it’s the right thing to do. And he. Didn’t. Do it. He has failed in his trust from a business perspective. He has failed in his trust as a figure of a publicly-funded (and the NFL is heavily supported by tax dollars, directly and indirectly) organization. He failed in his moral obligations as a conscious human being. And he has repeatedly done this through scandal after scandal in the NFL. He needs to go– he’s brought nothing good, and you can’t convince me he’s brought more money to the NFL than any other person in consideration would have done. The NFL pushes so hard on its own weight right now that all you need is to not screw up to keep the juggernaut moving forward.
Janitor for the NFL Headquarters For Bad People – wise, old Ray Lewis.
I have no problem with long bans for PEDs. That’s pretty much cheating, so longer bans are to be expected.
When people get banned for a year for smoking weed? That’s when things get a little too excessive. People barely get slapped on the wrist for violent acts, and I’m not talking in the game either.
I think that was part of the new HGH testing deal that is reducing the suspensions of guys like Gordon and Welker. Marijuana is now on a “substance abuse” policy which is not a suspension for first offense (and much reduced for later offenses).
…dave 4 commish
I’m a Niners fan, so possible homer goggles here…but Ray Mcdonald hasn’t even been *charged* yet. Sure, that’s probably forthcoming, but every single other person on that list has been at least charged with some counts of doing SOMETHING. Ray Mcdonald hasn’t.
When he does (and I’m sure he will) and the story comes out (as it has for all these other cases), I’m sure he’ll be deactivated. Until then, I don’t see a problem with the Niners letting him play.
This is also one I have an issue with. As much as I love the Niners, I hope they stick to their guns and cut him loose–IF he is charged. Too many players and other family members were present and more than likely, witnesses, at the time of the alleged incident. With RR, was there any doubt he struck his fiancee? Even without the second video. With Dwyer, the police right away released a statement with the charges and of the events that occurred (head-butted his wife and struck his son). Hardy was charged.
I cannot say with a 100% certainty that McD is innocent or not, but why ask for his head when even the police have not released any kind of statement about the incident or if there were pending charges? I think that’s simply the due process the team wants for their player. But I suspect they know more about the case but cannot speak on it until the investigation is over. But I also believe that the suspension of the broadcaster is also a warning shot to the rest of the team as well as to McD.
Don’t cheer for substantial justice to the detriment of procedural justice.
If it comes out that he fucked up, they damn well better cut him. I don’t want some wishy-washy ‘well, he can be helped’ shit – Harbaugh has a stance, he better stick to it.
Do I think people get second chances? Sure! But Harbaugh said he doesn’t stand for hitting women, and I want a coach who’s willing to put his money where his mouth is.
Plus, second chances come AFTER you make reparations. Not before.
im struggling with the rexy today!? love the throwaway about weeds at the end, took me a minute to get it, ho ho
Bill Romanowski is my vote for janitor.
I dont’t know very much about the McDonald and Dwyer cases, but I do know that there is a lot of sketchiness going on on Greg Hardy’s case. I don’t think he will be found guilty by a jury. You should read into it, Dave, there is a bit more there than you would expect. Although fuck ray rice, seriously. I think ap seriously didnt think there was anything wrong with what he was doing, but that doesn’t excuse it, either.
You do know that Adrian isn’t playing for the time being, and is under “indefinite deactivation”? He won’t be playing for a while.
“The 49ers suspended a broadcaster for a Ray Rice comment. In the meantime Mr. McDonald continues to play. What the shit, 49ers?”
I still laugh at Jim Harbaugh’s whole “I wouldn’t tolerate someone that hit a woman on my team” thing. Didn’t Ahmad Brooks punch a woman in the head back in 2008 and knock her unconscious because she had the audacity to ask him not to get into a fistfight with another dude on her front lawn? Hasn’t he started 16 games every year for Jimbo? Apparently punching a woman isn’t okay by his standards, except when it is. But DUIs, illegal weapons possessions, hit-and-runs, bomb threats? Totally cool in his book.
On the subject of Rice and Peterson, maybe I’m just still buying convincing lies that I was fed for years living around the Maryland border in a weird mix of Eagles and Ravens country, but I still feel like Ray Rice’s incident is an aberration, not the norm. Doesn’t forgive what he did, and he absolutely should be criticized heavily and be serving his punishment, but the police report mentions that both parties were heavily intoxicated. Again, that doesn’t exonerate him – a drunken mistake is still a mistake, and a drunken driver that kills someone still killed someone – but it does make me think that, after six years of hearing how much of a positive member of the community he was, that it’s not normal behavior on his part.
Again, maybe I’ve been lied to by Rice and the Ravens PR for years and I’m still biting, but even if I’m not, William Gay, who has been impacted about as personally as anyone in the league can be by domestic violence – his mother was shot and killed by his stepfather when he was seven – has said that he plans to reach out to Ray Rice and try to help him. And reading his explanation why, he makes a good point; the only thing that 100% scorn and punishment, especially since the league appears to be lying about the whole situation and how Rice gave his story, will do is create a victim complex for Rice, and turn him bitter and angry. The only way to truly bring about change in a person is to reach out, and educate them. I’ve never seen a bigot turned open-minded through scolding, but I have personally opened a few minds by treating them like normal human beings, talking with them, and educating them. Ray Rice, again, deserves all of his scrutiny, and deserves all of his scorn, and deserves his punishment. But the vindictive idea of doing nothing but attacking, refusing to even attempt to help improve him and help him pull himself out of his grave, creates a bitter, angry, often-violent shell of a man that serves neither the perpetrator, the victim, or the community and society that he belongs to.
And hell, if the dog lover in me is able to accept Mike Vick as a reformed soul(And I honestly do think he’s a changed man), then I can give Ray Rice a chance to prove he’s a better man than the elevator showed. If I was in support of Donte Stallworth’s second chance after he actually killed someone, it’s illogical for me not to extend the same train of thought to someone whose victim is actually alive. This isn’t a case of an Aaron Hernandez that’s killed five people or something, all in cold blood. Call me naive, but I believe in second chances. People make bad decisions and do terrible things. Some are more terrible than others, and what Rice did was most definitely terrible. But I also believe he deserves a chance to prove that he’s a better man than that.
For all the same reasons, I feel similarly about AP. What he did was horrific, but reading what he’s said in his defense, I don’t think it was from malice; I think it was ignorance. The ignorant deserve a chance to be educated and prove they can learn the right way of things before being condemned to the scrap heap.
I just don’t understand why this is the NFL’s problem to clean up. This is not an issue exclusive to football, it is a societal issue that stems from poor upbringing by the parents. Everybody is always trying to lay the blame and responsibility on everything but the root of the problem. I was raised to never hit PEOPLE, not just women. There really is no reason to resort to violence to get your point across regardless if it is an argument with a stranger at a football game over which team is better or if you are trying to explain to your child why what they did was wrong.
What I think is a larger issue is the idolization of athletes as role models. Why? Because they run, jump and throw/shoot a ball? Why not Neil deGrasse Tyson as a positive african american role model? I have never looked at athletes as someone special, they really are a dime a dozen, and are mostly a result of right place at the right time in the right scheme they fit the best in. Parents need to raise their kids better, with values and goals that are more commendable than sports.
Why should these players lose their jobs over the mistakes they make? I am sure that there are some people here that have made mistakes and run afoul of the law in one way or another but were allowed to keep their jobs. All I want is to watch a sport that I enjoy without being barraged by the hot topic of the day on how any sport affects society. The fact that someone has based their education around this subject worries me. We are going in the wrong direction and are not helping to solve this issue. Josh Gordon obviously has a drug problem, but suspending him from his job, causing him more stress as a result, denying him the access to his team and support group to help him deal with these issues have only exasperated his problems.
What Ray Rice did was horrible, but it does not define him as a person. It is only a story because he got caught on camera and is a sports star. Why has no one gone after the security guard that witnessed the event happen live and then tried to help him cover it up by saying to him “She’s drunk, right?” and then told him no cops would be called and they were allowed to leave together. No one cares because that guy isn’t a celebrity. So is everybody here that is condemning these players to a life of shame and poverty ready to accept the same punishment for their transgressions? Anybody here ever get a DUI? You’re fired. Anybody here ever get into an argument with a family member/significant other and cops were called? (a scratch from a fingernail is also domestic violence) You’re fired. Anyone here ever do drugs recreationally and/or fail a drug test? You’re fired, fix your problems on your own.
The thing is, everybody is fixated on punishing people and not on solving the root cause of the problems, it seems that no one wants to help any of these people and stop the cycle of bad behavior. AP needs counseling and guidance in rearing his children, JG needs to learn how to deal with his problems without getting stoned all the time, Ray needs to learn how to control his anger and not lash out with physical violence when he can no longer use his words to solve an argument, his wife needs to know to walk away when things go wrong and to not accept that kind of treatment in pursuit of financial wealth (maybe they really do love each other and they need help with how to communicate without insults and violence).
Stop looking at celebrities and athletes as something special, they are all just people like the rest of us, they make mistakes, they are just as confused about life as we are, stop segregating them into different classes and start including them in society as any other, only then will there be a change, together as a group.
but what the fuck do I know? I just want to watch football, can we get back to tongue in cheek sexy rexy jokes?
Fun fact! The only other comic with Adrian Peterson as a tag shows him as Purple Jesus. I find this kind of ironic.
erry1 forget bout the bj cuz he brake his arm bone
where the BJ news
what bout BJ
BJ = world peace lol
There should be a “temple of doom” tag to this comic as well.
Man I was defending Adrian when I first saw the photos, and I don’t even like the guy. They looked like (small) scratches only on his legs. I thought “Maybe it was an accident, he might have just gotten carried away, give him a warning and if he does it again, charge him with child abuse.” Then I heard about the measure he got beat, to the point of balls bleeding. Now as a fellow male, I refuse to think about what it would be like to pull down your pants and see blood everywhere. He should be charged with child abuse, that is simply ridiculous. No matter what that child did there is no justification for that.
As for the Ray Rice case, I think what he did was wrong, there was no justification for what he did either. I still hope he gets a second chance though. Look at Michael Vick, after what he did he has been an upstanding person ever since he got out of jail and he saved Riley Cooper’s career.
I truly think the most disturbing thing out og the Adrian Peterson case isn’t the beating he inflicted on his toddler son (very disturbing in itself), but the fact that he was beaten thike this habitually by his parents growing up (probably started at his son’s age so lasted at least 15 years) with tree branches, belts and extension cords that he thinks it’s not only normal, but that it’s love. He thought the abuse he recieved from his parents was love.
I have no doubts that Adrian Peterson is not a bad person and that he really loves his kids, but what he did WAS abuse. It’s incredibly disturbing and heartbreaking for everyone, especially the poor little boy who is another victim in the cycle of abuse. And help should be sought for Adrian Peterson too since he was also a victim of repeated abuse.
Dwyer is mentally ill and even if he is a backup should be treated differently (suicide mentioned multiple times, just generally insane stuff.) He needs help, I’m sure this news hadn’t broken when you wrote it. Greg Hardy will probably be proven innocent in a court of law, apparently the only “witness” wasn’t actually there, the accuser was coked up, and he was the one who made a calm 911 call asking to help him get her out of his house/apartment/living area. AP is a really tough one – obviously it is child abuse, but he clearly doesn’t think it is, he thought it was tough parenting. On one end, he clearly doesn’t know his own strength and overdid the punishment without knowing it. On the other end, he has a whooping room. I think he has some really messed up parenting methods and his upbringing probably caused this, and he did commit child abuse, but this one is a tough one. Rice should have a 6 game suspension, no matter what the video evidence is. That’s what the rules stated, he told the league before exactly what he did, they’re clearly only covering their own asses. Gordon should either have an all or nothing suspension to keep with the rules, and the NFL has pretty much messed up on every front. Goodell should be fired, and I wished everyone could go back to talking about football but of course, we can’t; these issues are too important
I personally think what they are starting to do, combined with a provision of the new drug policy is the way to go: if a player is indicted(indicted, not accused) then they get suspended with pay until legal proceedings are finished. That way, they arent getting financially punished until the case has been fully heard, but they are moved out of the limelight as much as possible. Once a legal ruling is made, then their case, with all relevant evidence is reviewed by a panel composed of members agreed upon by the NFL and the NFLPA who will decide what punishment, if any, should be handed down, with all results made public.
They key is, as has been mentioned, is that these men are not just athletes, they are, for good or ill, role models for a lot of people, especially kids, and once they have had their chance at that, if they screw that up, whatever else they do with their lives afterward, if they do something like this, they shouldnt get a second chance at that.
It doesnt matter if the legal punishment is laughably light, like Michael Vick’s, and i firmly believe in second chances and that ex-criminals should not be barred from work, since otherwise many reoffend out of desperation, but having blown the chance once, I firmly believe Vick should never have been allowed in a football uniform again, and the same goes for those found guilty in the latest rash of incidence.
I don’t know if anyone touched on this but “double jeopardy” doesn’t pertain to private companies like the NFL. For example, the domestic violence charges were dropped against Rice. Due to double jeopardy, the state of New Jersey nor Mrs.Rice can not charge Rice for the same incident (unless of course Ray Rice assaults his wife once more)
The NFL policies are not public law, they are allowed to hand out punishment to the teams, owners, coaches and players as they see fit. They can change the punishment whenever they damn well please. (it’s a shitty thing to do in the first place, but that is just the way things are)
Was the “Petey” in the final slide a Pete Rozelle reference? And “playing in the weeds”….apparently Bad-dell was into that REEFER and got a switch on the rear end for it.
It explains so many things!